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Class xX. 

Book )/ 4^ V - 




Copyright ]^°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



THE 

CALIFORNIA FRUITS 



AND 



HOW TO GROW THEM 



A MANUAL OF METHODS WHICH HAVE 
YIELDED GREATEST SL'CCESS, WITH THE 
LISTS OF VARIETIES BEST ADAPTED TO 
THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF THE STATE 



BY 
EDWARD J. WICKSON, A. M. 

Dean and Professor of Agriculture in the College of Agriculture of the University of California; Director 
and Horticulturist of the Agricultural Elxperiment Station; Author of "California Vegetables in Garden 
and Field;" Editor of The Pacific Rural Press; Member of the National Council of Horticulture. Etc 



The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear. 
And verdant olives flourish round the year: 
The balmy Spirit of the Western gale 
Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail: 
Each dropping pear a following pear supplies. 
On apples, apples: figs on figs arise. 
The same mild season gives the blooms to blow. 
The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow 

Pope's Hom. Odys. Bk VII. 



SIXTH EDITION — Fully Revised 



SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 

PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 
NINETEEN HUNDRED TWELVE 






Copyright, iqiz. 

By E. J. Wickson and Pacific Rural Press, 

Published May, iqii. 



THE HICKS-JUDD CO. 
Printers and Bookbinders 
5 1-65 First St.. San Francisco 



3> o i:i 
1 CI,A31G047 



PREFACE 



The Sixth Edition of this treatise has shared the good 
fortune of its immediate predecessors in meeting a pubhc 
demand which covered the available supply much sooner 
than anticipated. Because of the desirability of keeping the 
work abreast of the progress of a constantly changing and 
developing industry, the publishers have assumed the bur- 
den of resetting the type for each edition, escaping the 
temptation of greater profit which would attend reprinting 
from plates with minimum revision. Therefore this edition 
is wholly set anew — the sixth opportunity for free revision 
which the writer has enjoyed during the publication of the 
work, which has reached a total of sixteen thousand copies 
since the appearance of the first edition in 1889. 

Of the quality of the book, it does not become the writer 
to speak, but he may express his satisfaction at its popular- 
ity. Its circulation may be cited as a testimonial of its 
suitability for service in the building up of the fruit indus- 
tries, and the demand for it may be regarded as rather 
unique, when it is remembered that the book deals exclu- 
sively with the fruit growing of a single State which is only 
one, although it be the greatest, of the agricultural interests 
of that State. The demand for the book is an exponent of 
the continued activity in California fruit planting, and its 
sale abroad indicates the fact that the outside world is 
watching California's fruit development, and desires to 
know the methods by which such a great product as $75,- 
000,000 worth in a year is secured. 

The writer repeats the request which he has made in 
earlier editions that all readers whose observation and work 
teach them any better way than he has described in this 
book shall share with him the advantage of such greater 
wisdom. 

EDWARD J. WICKSON. 



University of California, 

Berkeley, May, 1912. 



CONTENTS 



PART ONE: GENERAL. 
C'liapter. 

I The Climate of California and Its Modifications. 

II Why the California Climate Favors the Growth of Fruit. 

III The Fruit Soils of California. 

IV The Wild Fruits of California. 
V The California Mission Fruits. 

VI Introduction of New Fruit Varieties. 

PART TWO: CULTURAL. 

VII Clearing the Land for l<"ruit. 

VIII The Nursery. 

IX Budding and Grafting. 

X Preparation for Planting. 

XI Planting of Trees. 

XII Pruning Trees and Thinning Fruit. 

XIII Cultivation. 

XIV Fertilizers for Trees and Vines. 
XV Irrigation of I'ruit Trees and Vines. 

PART THREE: ORCHARD FRUITS. 

XVI Commercial P'ruit Varieties. 

XVII The Apple. 

XVIII The Apricot. 

XIX The Cherry. 

XX The Peach. 

XXI The Nectarine. 

XXII The Pear. 

XXIII Plums and Prunes. 

XXIV The Quince. 



PART FOUR: THE GRAPE. 
Chapter. 

XXV The Grape Industry. 

XXVI Propagating and Planting Vines. 

XXVII Pruning and Care of the Vine. 

XXVIII Grape Varieties in California. 

PART FIVE: SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS. 

XXIX The Date. 

XXX The Fig. 

XXXI The Olive. 

XXXII The Orange. 

XXXIII The Pomelo or Grape Fruit. 

XXXIV The Lemon. 

XXXV ]Minor Semi-Tropical Fruits 

PART SIX: SMALL FRUITS. 
XXXVI Berries and Currants. 

PART SEVEN: NUTS. 
XXXVII Nut Growing: Almond, Walnut, etc. 

PART EIGHT: FRUIT PRESERVATION. 
XXXVIII Fruit Canning, Crystallizing and Preserving. 

PART NINE: FRUIT PROTECTION. 

XXXIX Injurious Insects. 

XL Diseases of Trees and Vines. 

XLI Suppression of Injurious Animals and Birds. 

XLII Protection from Wind and Frost. 

PART TEN: MISCELLANEOUS. 

XLIII Utilization of Fruit Wastes. 
Topical Index. 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS 



PART ONE : GENERAL 

CHAPTER I 

THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA AND ITS LOCAL 
MODIFICATIONS 



In climatic conditions affecting horticulture we have in Cali- 
fornia almost an epitome of the whole United States, with added 
climatic characters peculiarly our own. We have high mountain 
valleys with wintry temperature-conditions, where only hardy 
northern fruits can be grown ; we have hot valleys where the date 
palm confidently lifts its head to the fiery sunshine, while its feet 
are deeply planted in moist substrata beneath the sandy surface ; 
but wc can not claim tropical conditions, because our dry air denies 
us many strictly tropical growths, although we have frostless sites 
for them. Intermediate between the cold and snow of the moun- 
tains and the heat and sand of the desert, we have every describable 
modification and gradation, and, naturally, it is between these 
extremes that our richest inheritance of horticultural adaptation lies. 

When the breadth and scope of our horticultural adaptations 
are realized, it becomes apparent that an enumeration of the fruits 
we can grow successfully would be, in fact, a catalogue of the 
known fruits of the world, except those which are strictly tropical. 
Wherever there is a northern or southern departure from the 
equator sufficient to bring energy to mankind, or where the same 
is accomplished by elevation upon tropical mountainside or plateau, 
there also are fruits which find a welcoming home in California, 
and are improved by the intelligent cultivation and selection which 
here prevail. On the other hand, it has been abundantly demon- 
strated, during recent years, by official awards at great exhibitions 
and by the sharp criteria of the markets as well, that the fruits of 
wintry regions are quite as much benefited by transfer to proper 
locations in California as are the people who come to grow them. 



10 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO CROW THEM 

From north and south alike, then, California makes grand acquisi- 
tions and includes within her area the adaptations of the v/hole 
country, with some which no other State possesses. 

But while this horticultural scope is claimed for the State as a 
whole, it is necessary to add that local adaptations within the State 
must be very narrowly drawn. Our greatest failures have followed 
ill choice of location for the purpose intended. Whenever certain 
California fruits have been ill spoken of, they have been produced 
in the wrong places, or by ill-advised methods. It is possible, 
then, to produce both poor and perfect fruit of a given kind. It 
may be said this can be done anywhere by the extremes of culture 
and neglect, but to this proposition it must be added that in Cali- 
fornia equally excellent methods and care may produce perfection 
in one place and the opposite in another. One who seeks to know 
California well must undertake to master both its horticultural 
greatness and littleness; and so closely are these associated, and 
so narrow the belts of special adaptations, that there are many 
counties which have a range of products nearly as great as the 
State itself. 

It is hard for the stranger to realize this. It is difficult for 
him to believe that the terms "northern" and "southern" have 
almost no horticultural significance in California; that northern 
fruits reach perfection, under proper conditions, at the south, and 
vice versa; that some regions of greatest rainfall have to irrigate 
most frequently; that some of greatest heat have sharpest valley 
frosts ; that some fruits can be successfully grown through a north 
and south distance of 500 miles, but can not be successfully carried 
a few hundred feet of either less or greater elevation ; that on the 
same parallel of latitude within a hundred miles of distance, from 
coast to mountainside, one can continuously gather marketable 
Bartlett pears for three months — not to mention the second crop, 
which is often of account on the same trees in the same season. 

Through the multitude of local observations, which seem per- 
plexing and almost contradictory, it is possible to clearly discern 
certain general conditions, of both nature and culture, which may 
be briefly advanced as characteristically and distinctively Cali- 
fornian. 

The climate of the Pacific Coast is described by the meteor- 
ologist as "insular or moderate," as contrasted with the "continental 
or excessive" climate of the regions east of the Sierra Nevada. The 
west coast of Europe is also insular in its climate. The northern 
limit of an annual mean temperature of 50 degrees Fahr. is 50 
degrees and 47 degrees of north latitude on western coasts of 
Europe and America respectively. But though there is this 
similarity in mean annual temperature, there is a decided advantage 
pertaining to our climate over that of west Europe in that our 



CLIMATIC PECULIARITIES 11 

range of temperature is less ; that is, extremes of heat and cold are 
nearer together, and changes are therefore much less excessive. 
This characteristic of our local climates is due in the main to 
two great agencies, one active, bringing heat, the other passive, 
shielding us from arctic influences. 

First: Our proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Professor McAdie, 
who has charge of the San Francisco office of the United States 
Weather Bureau, says : "The prevailing drift of the surface air 
in temperature latitude is from west to east. Therefore the proxim- 
ity of the Pacific, with its mean annual temperature of 55 degrees 
Fahr., serves to prevent large temperature changes, because of the 
water vapor and also because the air comes landward. Whenever 
the circulation is reversed, temperatures vary." 

Second : Another agency contributing to the mild climate of 
the Pacific Coast consists in the mountain barriers upon our 
northern and eastern boundaries. It was Guyot who first called 
attention to the fact that the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade 
Mountains reach the coast of Alaska and bend like a great arm 
around its western and southern shore, thus shutting off or deflect- 
ing the polar winds that otherwise would flow down over the 
Pacific Coast States, while California has her own additional pro- 
tection from the north in the mountain arch which has its keystone 
in Mount Shasta. 

CHIEF TOPOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC DIVISIONS 
OF CALIFORNIA 

California is usually divided into three main areas and climates, 
each distinct in typical conditions and yet separated by regions, 
more or less wide, in which these conditions merge and influence 
each other. Dr. Robertson says :* 

Lsothermal lines which normally run cast and west are, as they near the 
Pacific, deflected north and south, and define three distinct climatic belts. These 
may be named coast, valley and mountain ; and while they resemble each other in 
having only two seasons, they are dissimilar in other respects. These differences 
depend upon the topography of the country, and are of degree rather than of 
kind; altitude, distance from the ocean, and situation with reference to mountain 
chains, giving to each region its characteristic climate. 

How similar are the conditions which prevail in these belts 
may be learned from the data shown in the following table, which 
includes points separated by nearly the whole length of the State, 
the difference in latitude of the extreme north and south points 
being seven or eight degrees. Thus, through a north or south 
distance great as that which separates the States of Georgia and 
New York, similar climatic conditions prevail in California. In the 
following table the averages are deduced from observations by the 
United States Weather Bureau observers for a long series of years : 

* Report of State Agricultuml Society, 1886, page 322. 



12 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

LOCATIONS FOR THE GROWTH OF DIFFERENT 

FRUITS 

It is intended to describe as definitely as possible the locations 
suitable for the growth of different fruits in the special chapters 
given to those fruits, but there are a few general conditions which 
should be outlined. 

Seasonable and extreme temperatures and average rainfall in various Cali- 
fornia regions from the records of the United States Weather Bureau to the 
close of 1911. 



bo 



B . 



STATIONS. COUNTY. 



47 


50 


56 


54 


52 


85 


20 


46.2 


51 


55 


59 


59 


56 


101 


29 


22.8 


50 


57 


67 


60 


58 


104 


18 


15.4 


49 


57 


66 


60 


58 


114 


15 


11.3 


55 


58 


65 


63 


60 


100 


28 


17.3 


55 


60 


70 


65 


62 


109 


28 


15.9 


55 


59 


68 


63 


61 


101 


32 


9.5 


47 


60 


80 


64 


63 


117 


18 


38.7 


47 


59 


72 


62 


60 


110 


19 


19.4 


49 


61 


79 


65 


63 


120 


16 


10.6 


47 


60 


79 


64 


63 


115 


20 


10.0 



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> SESEfcsSH oB -as %B c-S 

«J >(U >■«;>«>« ><u .«iu oil C« 

w <^ <*^ <■" <-^ <*' K^ hJ-" <"' 
COAST— 

Eureka Humboldt 64 

San Francisco ..San Francisco . .. 155 

San Jose Santa Clara 95 

King City Monterey 333 

Santa Barbara .Santa Barbara . .. 130 

Los Angeles . . . Los Angeles 293 

San Diego San Diego 93 

VALLEY— 

Redding Shasta 552 47 

Sacramento . ..Sacramento 71 

Merced Merced 173 49 

Fresno Fresno 293 

Visalia Tulare 334 46 59 78 62 61 113 17 10.3 

FOOTHILL AND MESA— 

Auburn Placer 1360 47 57 75 64 61 110 12 35.1 

Redlands San Bernardino . .1352 52 61 77 65 64 113 24 14.9 



In discussing the choice of location for an orchard it is not 
intended to speak geographically. As has already been intimated, 
latitude, which is a prime factor in geography, is of exceedingly 
small account as an indication of horticultural adaptations in 
California. The fact becomes strikingly apparent when it is known 
that the apple and the orange, fruit kings whose kingdoms lie at 
opposite borders of the temperate zone, so far distant that one 
may be called semi-frigid and the other semi-tropical, have in 
California utter disregard for the parallels of latitude, which set 
metes and bounds upon them in other lands, and flourish side by 
side, in suitable localities, from San Diego to Shasta. Impressive 
as this truth may be, it is not so startling as another fact, viz., that 
fruits, in suitable interior situations, ripen earlier at the north than 
at the south — a complete reversal of the tenets of the geographer. 



THE COAST CLIMATE 13 

It is apparent then that the selection of locations for orchards 
must be made with a knowledge of special conditions governing 
the distribution of equal temperatures and other natural agencies 
contributing to the development of fruit. This distribution, as 
has been intimated, is not by parallels of latitude, great circles 
which appear as straight lines on a map, but by curves, which 
proceed in various directions, governed chiefly by topography. 
These are curves of temperature, of rainfall, of elevation, of soil 
formation and deposit. Geography retires from authority; 
topography and climatography govern. 

Let these ruling conditions be reviewed, then, briefly: First, 
as to general areas ; second, with reference to special situations 
and locations. 

COAST CLIMATE 

The chief characteristics of the coast are equable temperature, 
increasing southward ; summers cool and winters warm, as com- 
pared with the interior; abundant rainfall, decreasing considerably 
southward ; a somewhat humid atmosphere, as compared with the 
interior; frequent fogs or overcast skies; prevailing westerly winds. 

The extension of coast influence toward the interior is gov- 
erned by local topography. Coast valleys open to ocean winds are 
cooler and moister and demand hardier fruits than valleys sheltered 
by intervening ranges. Gaps and passes in the ranges are subject 
to winds of considerable force and low temperature, and are not 
generally favorable for fruit; on the other hand, situations sheltered 
on the north and west favor growth of fruits even though quite 
near the coast. Sometimes a distance of a few miles, sometimes a 
wind-break of natural forest or of planted trees, so modifies coast 
influences that fruits do well. Elevation on the sides of coast 
valleys secures similar results. For example, the floor of the 
Pajaro Valley is well suited for apples, late pears, cherries, plums, 
prunes, and berries (except gooseberries), while on adjacent hill- 
sides peaches do well. 

In southern California, coast winds are warmer than in the 
upper half of the State, but coast influences intrude further, as a 
rule, because the hills near the coast in southern California are low; 
the high ranges, answering to the Coast Range of the upper part 
of the State, trending far into the interior. On the coast side of 
these ranges fruits ripen later than in sheltered interior points in 
the upper part of the State, but eastward of the mountains, where 
soil and moisture favor, or irrigation is practised, extra early loca- 
tions have been found and are now being rapidly developed — in 
the Imperial and adjacent valleys, for instance. 

Some of the horticultural effects of the conditions prevailing 
on the coast may be described as follows : 



14 CALiFORXiA fruits: how to grow them 

Late Ripening of Fruits. — The late ripening- of fruits west of 
the mountains in southern California has just been mentioned. 
Intrusion of coast influences has the same effect in more marked 
degree at the north because the ocean winds are colder. Directly 
on the coast, at Pescadero, San Mateo County, for example, fruits 
ripen about a month later than in Santa Clara Valley, which is just 
across the Coast Range. Xapa \'alley, though about forty miles 
inland and sheltered by ranges of hills, still is sufficiently affected 
by coast influences to mature fruits considerably later than Yaca. 
Valley, ten or fifteen miles further east, beyond a higher range, 
which completely bars out these influences. Similar local eft'ects 
are found in southern California. For instance, in Ventura County, 
in a canyon sixteen miles from the ocean, and at an elevation of 
sixteen hundred feet, fruits ripen three weeks earlier than on the 
coast or in the valleys opening thereon. 

Failure of Certeiin Fruits. — Though killing frosts are few directly 
on the coast, the deficiency in summer heat and sunshine renders 
some fruits unsatisfactory. This is especially the case in the upper 
coast region. Grapes and figs ripen imperfectly, while but a short 
distance back from the coast, in situations, sheltered by ridges 
parallel to the coast, they do well. Elevation sometimes produces 
corresponding effects. 

Pests and Diseases. — Certain blights are more prevalent under 
coast conditions. The scab blight of the apple, the curl-leaf of 
the peach, and some other blights, are prevalent on the coast and 
in coast valleys, on the river bottoms in the interior, and on the 
mountains, and less serious, or w^holly absent, in the hot interior 
valleys. Some insects prefer the coast but thrive also in the 
interior, as hot dry wind is excluded by dense growth of the tree 
and the included air becomes moister above irrigated soil. A 
notable instance is the black scale, which, with the black smut 
which attends it, has long been a grievous pest of growers of 
olives and citrus fruits, and has recently become prevalent on 
deciduous fruit trees in some regions. Directly under coast influ- 
ences, moss and lichens gather quickly and should be removed. 
Spraying with alkaline washes not only kills insects but cleans 
the bark from parasitic vegetable growth. Although fruit trees 
on the coast are not so subject to sunburn as in the interior, there 
is especial value in low heading to withstand winds ; there should 
also be plenty of room given the trees, that sunshine may have free 
access to warm the ground all around the tree, which may be 
undesirable in the interior. 



VALLEY, FOOTHILL AND MOUNTAIN CLIMATE 15 

VALLEY CLL^L\TE 

The characteristics of the interior valley climate are higher 
summer and lower winter temperatures than on the coast, the 
range of temperature being nearly the saine both north and south ; 
rainfall abundant in the north and decreasing rapidly southward, 
so that as a rule the interior valleys in the south half of the State 
require irrigation ; very dry air and almost constant sunshine, 
freedom from fogs and from dew in summertime ; winds occasion- 
ally strong, hot. and desiccating in summer and cold in winter. 

Local Modifications. — The term "valley climate" is broad, and 
includes everything, away from the coast to a certain elevation 
on the slope of the mountains. Certain small valleys protected 
from cold northerly winds and from fog-bearing westerly winds 
and open to the spring sunshine, have a forcing climate which 
produces the earliest maturing fruit of the season ; earlier not 
only than the coast and the mountain, as has been stated, but also 
somewhat earlier than adjacent locations in the broad, open 
valley. Slight elevation, even on the sides of small valleys, 
frequently secures freedom from winter frosts and ministers to 
early ripening. Elevation above sea-level on the rims of great 
valleys also secures similar results and gives rise to thermal belts 
in which semi-tropical fruits are successfully growing even as far 
north as Shasta County. On the floors of great valleys moderating 
influences are secured on the lee side of wide rivers and by 
planting on the river bank or on slightly elevated swells rather 
than on the level, open plain. The river bottom lands of the great 
valleys, though subject to severe frosts, are freer from the effects 
of desiccating winds than the open plains ; they are, however, 
more favorable to the spread of certain blights than the plains. 

Some of the horticultural effects of valley conditions are as 
follows : Early ripening and perfection of summer and autumn 
fruits, owing to continual sunshine and dry air; forced maturity 
of certain fruits, as apples for instance, which destroys character 
and keeping quality; injury from sunburn and hot winds in 
summer, which seriously affect both fruit and foliage of some 
varieties; occasional injury to tender fruits (semi-tropicals) and 
to young trees of hardy fruits, which have been kept growing late 
in the season, from low temperature, which sometimes is reached 
suddenly on the floor of the valleys : freedom from some blights 
and insects which are prevalent on the coast, but not from others. 
Many of these minor troubles are, however, counterbalanced by 
the earliness, size, beauty, and quality of certain fruits, and by 
the most rapid and successful open-air drying of fruits, owing 
to high autumn temperature, the freedom from summer fog, dew 
and generally from rain during the drying season. 



16 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

FOOTHILL CLIMATE 

Foothill climate is usually cousidered as a modification of 
valley climate. It has been shown that up to about two thousand 
five hundred feet, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the 
seasonal temperatures are quite like those of the valley, but the 
rainfall increases about one inch for each hundred feet of elevation. 
There are, however, in the foothills, places where early spring 
heat and freedom from frost give very early ripening fruits, and 
other places at the same elevation where winter temperature drops 
below the valley minimum, and where late frosts also prevail. 
This is governed by local topography. In many of the small 
valleys among the foothills, both of the Sierra Nevada and the 
Coast Ranges, frosts are more severe than on the hills adjacent 
or in the broader valleys to which they are tributary. These small 
"protected valleys" are apparently warm and cozy for early 
blooming deciduous and citrus fruits, but are really very dan- 
gerous. They frequently have such narrow and obstructed open- 
ings that cold air is dammed up over their lower lands and frosts 
are more severe and later than in valleys which have ample and 
free outlets and seem less protected. 

Of course the disposition of cold air to settle in low places 
and to flow down canyons and creek-beds while the warm air 
rises and bathes the adjacent hillsides, has much to do Avith frost 
in the hollow and the freedom from it on the hills. The constant 
motion of the air on the slopes is also a preventive of frost, pro- 
viding the general temperature is not too low. It is not uncommon 
to find in deeper valleys, protected against the western wind, fleets 
of snow and a wintry chill, with dormant vegetation, while one 
thousand feet higher up the foliage is fast developing. 



MOUNTAIN CLIMATE 

Above an elevation of two thousand five hundred to three 
thousand feet, conditions gradually intrude which resemble those 
of wintry climates. The tender fruits, the apricots, peach, etc., 
become liable to winter injury and give irregular returns, or as 
greater elevation is attained, become wholly untrustworthy. 
Early blooming of these fruits during warm spells which are fol- 
lowed by severe frosts, renders the trees unfruitful. At four 
thousand to four thousand five hundred feet the hardy apple and 
pear flourish, ripening late, and winter varieties possessing excel- 
lent keeping qualities. Here, however, winter killing of trees 
begins and locations even for hardy fruits have to be chosen with 
circumspection. 



ACTIVITY OF FRUIT TREES 17 

There are elevated tracts oi large extent among the Sierras 
where the common wild plum, choke-cherry, gooseberry, and Cali- 
fornia chestnut are produced abundantly. April frosts have killed 
the fruit of those same plums, transplanted to lower ground, while 
those left in their natural situation were quite unharmed. It has 
been observed that these plum trees, with other fruits and nuts 
in their original positions, invariably occupy the broad tops of 
the great ridges instead of the sides and bottoms of ravines or 
narrow, pent-up valleys. Follow nature in the choice of orchard 
sites (with due regard to a supply of moisture in the soil, either 
natural or artificial) and little hazard attends the culture of the 
hardier fruits of our latitude among the highlands of the State 
than is incident to other seemingly more favored localities. The 
beauty and quality of these mountain fruits are proverbial. 



A RULE OF GENERAL APPLICATION 

What has been thus suggested of the great variation of tem- 
perature conditions within narrow limits should lead to the con- 
clusion that not only must the kind of fruit to plant be determined 
by local observation and experience, but often varieties of these 
fruits must be chosen with reference to adaptation to local environ- 
ment. For this reason it is impossible to compile tables of varieties 
suited for wide areas — and yet it is true that some varieties have 
shown themselves hardy and satisfactory under all conditions. 
These facts will be shown by the discussion which will be given to 
each of the different fruits. 



REST AND ACTIVITY OF FRUIT TREES 

Indication has already been made of regions adapted to the 
growth of early and of late fruits. There is, of course, difference 
in time of rest and of returning activity in blooming. On the 
mountains under wintry conditions the trees leaf out and bloom 
late, following more or less the habit of Eastern trees. In the 
foothills, the valleys, and the coast, there is less difference in 
time of rest and of leaf and bloom. Even in regions where there 
may be a month's difference in ripening of fruit, as, for example, 
in the Vacaville district, fifty miles inland, and in Berkeley, two 
miles from the bay shore, trees bloom almost at the same date. 
The difference in ripening is due to the higher temperature and 
fuller sunshine of the interior situation, which have a forcing 
effect, while the low temperature and dull skies of the summer on 
the coast retard maturitv. 



]8 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The rest of the tree, in all save the mountain district, is not 
dependent upon the touch of frost. It comes rather from thirst 
than from cold. The immense weight of fruit, the vigorous growth 
of wood, and the exhaustion of moisture from the soil by the 
draught of the roots to compass this growth, are the chief causes 
which bring the sere and yellow leaf in California. It is not frost, 
for the petunias may be blooming and the tomato vines still green 
in the fields. But the time has come for a rest. The trees sleep ; 
but merely as a nap at midday; the early rains wake them 
soon. The roots are active first, then the buds swell, and the 
blossoms burst forth — sometimes as early as January — the almond 
first heralding the advent of California springtime. 

Sometimes this season of rest is too short for the good of the 
tree or vine. The early rains, when followed by a spring-like tem- 
perature, as sometimes happens, induce activity in the top as well 
as the root, and the tree is not in condition to withstand cold 
weather, which may follow. It is probable that such stimulated 
activity, suddenly checked, is responsible for more ills to tree and 
vine than are usuallv attributed to it. 



CHAPTER II 

WHY THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE FAVORS THE 
GROWTH OF FRUIT 

it is pointed out by the earliest students of meteorology, as 
related to horticulture, that perfect development of fruits depends 
upon certain atmospheric conditions, which are included in the term 
climate : First, temperature ; second, light ; third, humidity or 
atmospheric moisture, — considered wholly apart from soil moisture. 
It was also shown that temperature and humidity should be equable, 
or as free as possible from excessive extremes or rapid changes. 

Obviously, the chief characteristics of the California climate are: 
First, freedom from extremes of low temperature ; second, an abun- 
dance of sunshine ; and third, an atmosphere with a low percentage 
of humidity. It will be interesting to introduce enough statistics 
to demonstrate these claims, and to cite reasons why these con- 
ditions are of special value to the fruit grower. 



THE OFFICE OF HEAT IN FRUIT PRODUCTION 

Temperature conditions may preclude the success of a fruit tree 
either by destroying it outright, by dwarfing it, or by preventing 
it from setting or ripening its fruit. Extremes of temperature 
accomplish the death of plants, and insufficient or excessive mean 
temperatures may prevent fruition without killing the plant. The 
first quality of the California climate to arrest the attention of fruit 
growers in the states east of the Rocky Mountains is the freedom 
from the effects of the extremely low winter temperatures, to which 
is due the deplorable failure, in the eastern and western states, of 
many of the fruit varieties from the west of Europe, and to escape 
which such zealous effort is now being so successfully put forth 
to secure hardy varieties of native and foreign origin. 

How slight is the injury from low temperatures in all parts of 
the State where fruit is largely grown may be seen from the fol- 
lowing compilation of extreme low temperatures at different points 
approximately at the same latitude on the coast, in the interior 
valleys, and on the foot-hills. 

These records will show any one familiar with winter killing of 
the leading orchard fruits that such disasters are not to be feared 
in the chief fruit regions of California. Local temperature is largely 
19 





Nevada City .... 

Colfax 

Auburn 

Jackson 


.... 7 
.... 14 
.... 12 
.... 10 


Porterville 

Redlands . 

Fall Brook 


.... 22 
.... 24 
.... 24 



20 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Lowest Temperatures at Several California Points 

Coast and Coas. Deg. above Deg. above Deg. above 

Valleys — zero. Interior Valleys — zero. Foothills — zero. 

Eureka 20 Redding 18 

Ukiah 12 Red Bluff 18 

Cloverdale 24 Oroville 20 

Napa 18 Marysville 20 

San Francisco 28 Sacramento 19 

San Jose 18 Merced 16 

Gilroy 20 Fresno 20 

San Miguel 15 Tulare City 18 

Los Angeles 28 Colton 22 

San Diego 32 Poway 21 

controlled by local conditions, as has been already pointed out, and 
in the disticts named in the table there are special locations where 
the lowest temperature probably differed a few degrees from the 
figures given. 

NECESSITY OF ADEQUATE SUA/IMER HEAT 

Passing beyond the freedom from winter killing, it may be 
remarked that the influence of certain degrees of heat upon the 
growth of the plant and the perfection of its fruit, has been the 
subject of much close observation. Boussingault conducted care- 
ful experiments, and showed that a temperature above a certain 
minimum of heat is found necessary for germination, another for 
chemical modification, and a third for flowering, a fourth for the 
ripening of seeds, a fifth for the elaboration of the saccharine juices, 
and a sixth for the development of aroma or bouquet. 

Originally the mean annual temperature was alone observed, 
and the polar limits of plants, it was presumed, could be thereby 
determined. More recently it was taught that the mean tempera- 
ture of seasons is of more importance than that of the year, and 
it is believed that to the relative distribution of heat over the 
seasons rather than to the absolute amount received during the 
year, we are to attribute the fitness or unfitness of a region for the 
growth of certain kinds of vegetation. 

It is held in Europe that the mean heat of the cycle of vegetation 
of the vine must be at least 59 degrees Fahr., and that of the 
summer from 65 degrees to 66 degrees Fahr. It is stated to be 
impossible, for instance, to cultivate the vine upon the temperate 
tablelands of South America, where they enjoy a mean temperature 
of 62.6 degrees to 66.2 degrees Fahr., because these climates are 
characterized by a constancy of temperature, never rising to the 
higher heats necessary to the process of sugar forming, and the 
vine grows, and flourishes, but the grapes never become thoroughly 
ripe. Boussingault shows that, in addition to a summer and 
autumn sufficiently hot, it is indispensable that at a given period — 



SUMMER HEAT AMPLE 21 

that which follows the appearance of seeds — there should be a 
month the mean temperature of which does not fall below 66.2 
degrees Fahr. As will appear presently, this temperature test 
should not be taken alone, but it will serve as a standard to show 
one feature of the horticultural adaptation of the California climate. 
Boussingault claims the need of 66.2 degrees Fahr. for a single 
month. To be sure to include this, the accompanying table gives 
the average summer temperature at the leading fruit-growing 
centers named. 

Average Summer Temperature at Various California Points 

Coast and Coast Eleva- Deg. 

Valleys — ■ Deg. F. Interior Valleys — ■ Deg. F. Foothills — tion. F. 

Upper Lake 86 Redding 80 Auburn 1,363 75 

Napa 65 Oroville 79 Colfax 2421 76 

Livcrmore 69 Marysville 78 Georgetown 2,500 85 

San Jose 67 Sacramento 72 Caliente 1,290 82 

Hollister 66 .Merced 79 Fall Brook 700 68 

Santa Barbara ... 65 Fresno 79 Redlands 1,352 11 

Los Angeles 70 Tulare 78 

San Diego 68 Riverside 73 



These points are selected because the European varieties of 
the grape reach perfection in their vicinity. The excess of heat 
above that required, as is found at all the interior points mentioned 
in the table, results in a very high sugar percentage in the grapes, 
and contributes to the ripening of a second and third crop, as 
will be noted presently. The superior length of the growing season 
in California, of course, is an important agency toward the same 
end. 

DIRECT SUNLIGHT ALSO A REQUISITE 

Count de Gasparin was first to point out that not alone sufficient 
heat, but abundance of continuous sunshine is a requisite of perfec- 
tion in fruit growth and ripening, and on his authority may be 
based a claim of exceptional value to the fruit grower in the months 
of cloudless skies which are characteristic of the California summer. 

"The solar rays," says Gasparin, "do not only produce heat, but 
bring us light, and the effects of the heat and light rays difiFer in a 
very pronounced manner. Without light there is no fructification ; 
it is not necessary that the want of light should be complete that 
there should be a failure of fruits. In fact, diffused light alone does 
not suffice for the greater number of plants ; cultivated plants will 
not ripen their seed without the direct rays of sun, and the longer 
they are deprived of it the smaller the quantity which they will 
mature."* 



Cours d' Agriculture, t. 11, p. 96. 



22 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Again, referring to the grape, for in connection with the growth 
of this fruit the most careful researches have been made, Humboldt 
wrote: "If to give a potable wine the vine shuns the islands and 
nearly all seacosts, even those of the West, the cause is not only 
in the moderate heat of summer upon the seashore, but it exists 
more in the difference which there is between direct and diffused 
light; between a clear sky, and one veiled with clouds.*" 

Normal Cloudiness at California and Eastern Points 

.Mar. 

California — 

Red Bluff 4.4 

Sacramento 3.9 

San Francisco 4.8 

Fresno 4.3 

San Diego 4.8 

Eastern — 

Rochester, N. Y 6.6 

New York, N. Y 5.5 

Philadelphia, Pa. . . . 5.6 

Baltimore, Md 5.4 

Cleveland, Ohio . ... 6.4 
Grand Haven, Mich.. 6.2 
Jacksonville, Fla. . . . 4.2 
New Orleans, La. ... 4.8 

It is noticeable that at the California coast points the average 
cloudiness is almost twice that of the interior valleys, while at the 
East the interior fruit regions of western New York, Ohio, and 
Michigan, have a greater Average cloudiness than the Hudson 
River, New Jersey, and Delaware regions near the Atlantic sea- 
board. The average cloudiness in the Eastern fruit regions is 
rather more than twice as great as in the regions of California 
where most fruit is grown. 

This ^cess of advantage, as it may be termed, in connection 
with the high and protracted heat already mentioned, takes prac- 
tical form in the successful ripening of a second and sometimes a 
third crop of these grapes in a season, from later bloom on younger 
cane growth. This beha\'ior is of more value as a demonstration 
of climatic conditions than otherwise, for it is generally better to 
produce the main crop alone than to undertake later ones. 

Another indication of excess of advantage in the interior valley 
is found in the development of high sugar contents, which is of 
direct value in raisin production. The same tendency, though 
perhaps of less commercial value, is seen in the fact that some 
grapes which yield a good claret wine nearer the coast develop too 
much alcohol when grown in the interior. 

* Cosmos, t. I, p. 349. 

















Avg. for 


^pril 


May 


June 


July 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


9 mo. 


4.2 


3.6 


1.9 


1.0 


0.7 


1.3 


2.4 


3.4 


2.5 


3.5 


2.7 


l.S 


0.5 


0.4 


1.1 


2.0 


2.8 


2.0 


4.3 


4.2 


3.8 


4.3 


4.3 


3.5 


3.3 


3.8 


4.0 


2.9 


2.7 


1.5 


0.7 


0.9 


1.4 


2.2 


2.8 


2.0 


4.4 


5.3 


4.8 


4.3 


3.9 


3.7 


3.8 


3.3 


4.2 


5.4 


5.2 


4.9 


4.6 


4.6 


4.9 


6.0 


7.6 


5.5 


5.3 


5.2 


4.9 


5.0 


4.9 


4.7 


4.9 


5.2 


5.0 


5.4 


5.1 


5.0 


5.0 


4.9 


4.8 


4.7 


5.2 


5.0 


5.1 


5.1 


4.9 


4.8 


4.9 


4.7 


4.6 


4.9 


4.9 


5.3 


4.9 


4.6 


4.3 


4.3 


4.9 


5.7 


7.3 


5.3 


5.4 


4.8 


4.6 


3.8 


4.0 


4.4 


5.6 


7.5 


5.1 


4.1 


4.1 


5.1 


4.8 


4.9 


S.O 


4.2 


4.5 


4.5 


4.8 


4.3 


4.7 


4.9 


4.7 


4.3 


3.5 


4.5 


4.5 



ADVANTAGE OF DRY AIR 23 

The advantage of California over Eastern and Southern fruit 
regions in the abundance of clear sunshine is shown in the table 
on the preceding page. Cloudiness is rated from to 10, three 
observations daily, and the figures in the table are the averages 
from these daily observations for a series of years, compiled from 
the records of the U. S. Weather Bureau. 



RELATION OF ATMOSPHERIC HU^^IIDITY TO THE 
GROWTH OF TREES 

There is another important condition of the climate of California 
which is intimately related to those which have been considered, 
and which is to be credited with no small influence in the perfection 
of our fruits, and that is the low percentage of humidity which our 
atmosphere contains. In California the percentage of humidity is 
high in the winter and low in the summer; in the East the condi- 
tion is just reversed. For this reason summer heat is far more 
oppressive in the East than in California, and for the same reason 
certain serious fungoid diseases which prevail at the East, though 
found here in less injurious degree directly on the coast, are wholly 
unknown in the interior where the air is drier. The dry air also 
favors the access and action of light and heat, for Tyndall says that 
a sheet of vapor acts as a screen to the earth, being in a great 
measure impervious to heat. 

It is not necessary, then, that there should be clouds to lessen 
the chemical effects of sun heat in fruit ripening. Not only do 
clouds intercept sunshine, but water vapor in the air — when to the 
eye the sun is bright as ever — can absorb a large quantity of the 
efifective sun rays, and so retard fruit ripening. Hence an appar- 
ently sunny country which has much invisible water vapor in the 
air. may prove defective in fruit-ripening qualities. 

It is true that air free from humidity allows rapid escape of 
heat by radiation as well as free access of it, and in dry air frost 
is more severe, but at the time of the greatest fruit growth, from 
June to October, radiation down to a frost point is prevented by 
other natural agencies. In the early spring and late autumn the 
humidity percentage rises again and checks radiation just at the 
time of the year when it is most desirable to have it checked. 

The accompanying table, compiled from the records of the 
United States Weather Bureau, shows the prevailing relative 
humiditv in the East and South and in California. 















Avg. for 


May 


June 


July 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


8 mo. 


73.0 


n.(i 


78.6 


80.9 


82.9 


79.8 


82.2 


78.3 


68.9 


69.2 


68.6 


71.2 


75.2 


70.7 


73.6 


70.1 


68.6 


69.1 


67.3 


70.7 


75.2 


75.6 


76.2 


71.3 


71.4 


73.7 


69.0 


73.1 


75.0 


75.7 


79.1 


73.5 


67.8 


68.8 


66.3 


67.3 


70.2 


65.9 


71.1 


67.6 


74.2 


78.1 


78.3 


78.8 


n.z 


74.0 


79.4 


78.0 


78.0 


79.3 


77.4 


78.1 


77.2 


75.6 


80.4 


78.5 


75.2 


73.0 


75.4 


76.2 


72.9 


74.3 


66.6 


73.3 


52.7 


42.4 


34.7 


34.7 


43.6 


55.1 


64.1 


48.3 


67.6 


66.1 


59.8 


59.8 


59.0 


62.4 


66.8 


63.6 


56.8 


43.7 


35.6 


35.3 


43.6 


51.6 


60.7 


48.8 



24 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Normal Relative Humidity at Eastern and California Points 

April 

Eastern Stations — 

Jacksonville, Fla 72.3 

Philadelphia, Pa 63.4 

Rochester, N. Y 67.8 

Grand Haven, Mich... 70.9 

St. Louis, Mo 63.7 

New Orleans, La 76.0 

Galveston, Tex 84.6 

California Stations — 

Los Angeles 73.1 

Fresno 59.3 

Sacramento 67.6 

Red Bluff 61.9 

THE THREE POINTS COMBINED 

The three great advantages of the California climate — abundant 
heat, continuous sunshine, and dry air — taken in connection with 
the fitness of the soil and the great length of the growing season, 
insure the characteristic excellence of California fruit, and the early 
maturity, great growth, and abundant fruitage of our trees and 
vines. Heat, sunshine, dry air, and a rainless summer also min- 
ister directly to the curing of fruits in the open air. All things 
considered, it is doubtful whether any area in the world excels 
California in possession of natural adaptation to fruit production 
and preservation. 

A RECAPITULATION OF CALIFORNIA'S CLIMATIC 

ENDOWMENT 

Through the multitude of local observations, which seem per- 
plexing and almost contradictory, it is possible to clearly discern 
certain general conditions of both nature and culture, which may 
be briefly advanced as characteristically and distinctively Califor- 
nian. Of these, perhaps the most striking is the length of the 
growing season. 

Take, for instance, the peach in a good peach region. The 
bloom may appear in February, followed by the grand foliage 
expanding to a leaf-size, marvelous to one unused to such peach 
leaves. The shoots of new growth rush out with vigor promised 
by such leaf; and yet the fruit below expands as though it would 
burst its skin in rapid enlargement — and still it grows. The new 
shoot, apparently weary of its several feet of extension, stops for 
a rest, and then, reviving, starts out its laterals — while still below 
the peach is growing. The laterals push out a f(>ot or more — all 
carrying large, fresh leaves. While these arc in full vigor, the fruit 



IMPORTANCE OF CLEAR SUNLIGHT 25 

ripens, after having a full year's joint work of root and foliage, if 
it is a late variety. Is it any wonder it weighs a pound? But still 
the tree is active. It forms its terminal buds, and then all along 
the new main shoots and their laterals are formed the leaf and 
blossom buds for the following year. Still the foliage holds green 
and active, if the moisture below be adequate, and the leaves seem 
loth to fall in the ninth month from the time of blooming. Is it 
any wonder California peaches are large and the trees require 
pruning and thinning to enable them to carry the weight produced 
in such a season of growth? And what has been said of the peach 
is true of other trees, according to their nature and habits. The 
trees themselves are more eloquent of California's conditions for 
growth than descriptions or statistical tables can be made. 

But the quality of the light and heat, if the term is admissable, 
is a factor as well as their duration. The air, free, not alone from 
clouds, but from the insensible aqueous vapor which weakens 
sunshine in its effort to serve vegetation in a humid climate, has a 
clearness and brilliance from its aridity which makes each day of 
the long, growing season more than a day in other climates, and 
thus adds to the calendar length of the growing season. The 
surplus light and heat also act directly in the chemistry which pro- 
ceeds in the tissues of the plant, and we have not only size, but 
quality, color, aroma — everything which makes the perfect fruit 
precious and beautiful beyond words. 

It is true that for commercial purposes it is not possible to 
allow this process to go too far, for its later effects are higher 
sweetness, accompanied by such juiciness that the fruit can not 
endure transportation. But go to the tree to apply the only test 
which can fairly be put to a juicy fruit, and the demonstration of 
the service of clear, unobstructed sunshine through an adequate 
period is complete. But if this can not be done, place the judgment 
upon the mature peach carefully sun-dried and intelligently cooked, 
or upon the ripe peach skilfully canned, and the distinctive adapta- 
tions of California for fruit production will display themselves. 

But there are other agencies involved in the perfection of fruit 
than intensity and duration of light and heat. Without adequate 
moisture in the soil, the air which we have credited with such 
benign power in carrying heat and light for perfection of fruit 
would transmit the same as agencies for the destruction of the tree 
which bears it. If this moisture comes from rainfall, it descends at 
the time of the year when the tree is least active, consequently is 
least retarded by a clouded sky and moisture-laden air, and least 
affected by atmospheric disturbances. Strong storm winds find 
the tree with reefed sails, and able to endure pressure which would 
tear it to pieces if they came upon its grand spread of foliage on 
branches heavy with fruit. It is a priceless horticultural endow- 



26 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ment that no tornado can pierce our protecting mountain-barriers, 
and that it is exceedingly rare that our local winds disturb the 
confident swaying of the branches and leaf movement beyond the 
activity which ministers to the sap flow. And if the adequate 
moisture is not from rainstorm, but by irrigation, the same facts 
remain, for the water reaches the tree without interrupting its 
aerial activity. Temperature is maintained, light is unobstructed, 
and the tree is refreshed with moisture without the chill and dark- 
ness which favor fungoid parasites. Of all the ways by which 
moisture could come to soils supporting fruit tree or vine, the 
natural by its time, and the artificial by its method, endow Cali- 
fornia with the best. 

The characteristics of the California climate which have been 
especially pointed out in this sketch are not propitious to fruit 
culture when they exist to excessive degree, as in some interior or 
continental climates. Local conditions of altitude, distance from 
the sea, and exposure to the sweep of arctic winds, induce sudden 
and great weather changes which are serious in their effects. 
Excessively low percentage of atmospheric humidity, in connection 
with desiccating wind, often produce greater evaporation from the 
leaves than the roots can supply. Excessively dry air admits a 
parching" sun heat at one time, and at another facilitates radiation 
of heat, until the rapid decline in temperature makes killing frosts 
frequent. It is evident that California has these agencies constantly 
held in check by her insular situation and protecting environment, 
and owes her wonderful adaption to growth of tree and perfection 
of fruit not more to the possession of certain conditions than to 
the fact of their existence in moderation. 



CHAPTER III 

THE FRUIT SOILS OF CALIFORNIA 

The favoring characteristics of the California climates, which 
have been described, find their fitting complement in the adaptation 
of the California soils to the perfect development of fruit-bearing 
tree and vine. In their wonderful variety and consequent great 
range of special adaptations within narrow limits of area, our soils 
also resemble our climates. As a man may sometimes find within 
the boundaries of an ordinary-sized farm such a difference of 
atmospheric conditions that the same fruit will thrive in one spot 
and not in another, so he may find differences in soil which will 
tend to produce the same results. For this reason the precise spot 
in which to plant any given fruit must be chosen with regard to 
both soil and exposure. In the chapters devoted to the several 
fruits, there will be an attempt made to describe the soil require- 
ments of each, so that the inexperienced planter may not err 
seriously in choosing the location for each kind of fruit he desires 
to grow. While this is true, it will also appear in these special 
chapters that the choice of roots upon which to bud or graft gives 
the planter a certain latitude and independence. This is of greatest 
value in the planting of home orchards, or orchards for local 
markets, in regions where the soil is not what is usually preferred 
for fruit production. With proper choice of stocks and wisdom and 
diligence in cultivation, one need hardly despair of growing good 
fruit on soil which will support any laudable plant grawth. And 
yet in commercial orcharding, the secret of which is producing 
most abundantly and cheaply, too great attention can not be paid 
to choice of specially adapted soils. 

It is an interesting fact that more complete and exact knowledge 
exists of the soils of California than of any other State of the 
Union, and for this knowledge the public is indebted to E. W. 
Hilgard, Professor Emeritus of Agriculture, and Director of the 
Agricultural Experiment Stations of the University of California 
from 1875 to 1905. For the last thirty-seven years he has given 
all the time he could spare from many other and pressing duties, 
to the examination, and, when needed, the analysis, of represen- 
tative soil specimens, and to practical expositions of their nature, 
adaptations, and requirements in the event of exhaustion from too 
long cropping, and he has published a general treatise entitled, 
"Soils; Their Formation, Properties, Composition and Relations 
to Climate and Plant Growth in the Humid and Arid Regions," 
which includes the results of his long study of California soils and 
climates. 



28 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Since the honorable retirement of Professor Hilgard and of 
Professor R. H. Loughridge, who was for many years closely 
associated with him in soil work, the University instruction and 
research in soils have been in charge of Professor C. B. Lipman, 
whose original work, especially in soil bacteriology, is making 
notable contributions to a fuller understanding of the distinctive 
character of California soils and their intelligent utilization. 

Very extensive studies of California soils have been recently 
made under the direction of Dr. Milton Whitney, Chief of the 
Bureau of Soils of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
and a new classification and nomenclature of them, from his points 
of view, with extended maps of their occurrence, are to be found in 
the special reports of the Bureau. 

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF CALIFORNIA SOILS 

One of the most interesting and important recent achievements 
in soil investigation consists in demonstrating distinctive differ- 
ences between soils formed under arid and under humid climatic 
conditions. In the development of this subject certain distinctive 
characters of California soils clearly appear, and they are of direct 
relation to the thrift, productiveness, treatment and longevity of 
fruit trees. These characters are: (a) lightness and consequent 
permeability and ease of cultivation ; (b) depth, admitting excep- 
tional root extension and penetration; and (c) richness, containing 
some kinds of plant food in considerably greater amounts than are 
found in the soils of humid regions. These characteristics, as 
demonstrated by Prof. Hilgard, may be outlined in this way with 
special reference to their relations to fruit growing. 

Lightness. — California soils predominately exhibit the sandy, 
silty or pulverulent nature of all soils formed under arid conditions, 
save in case of pre-existing clay formations of former geological 
epochs, as well as slack-water deposits of the present epoch, all of 
which are substantially independent of climate. While "sand" in 
the humid regions means virtually quartz grains only, in the arid 
country it means very largely grains and powder of the other soil- 
forming minerals as well. While, therefore, in the humid region 
sandy land as a rule means poor land, in the arid, on the contrary, 
sandy lands are at least as desirable as heavier ones, both on the 
score of high productiveness, durability, and ease of cultivation, 
together with ready resistance to drouth. 

Depth. — Another point of great importance is that the difference 
between soil and subsoil, which is so striking and important in 
regions of abundant rainfall, is largely obliterated in arid climates. 
Very commonly hardly a perceptible change of tint or texture is 



CALIFORNIA SOIL CHARACTERS 29 

found for depths of several feet; and what is more important, 
material from such depths, when thrown on the surface oftentimes 
subserves the agricultural uses of a soil nearly or quite as well 
as the original surface soil. The unconcern with which irrigators 
proceed to level or otherwise grade their land, even though this 
may involve covering up large areas of surface soil with subsoil 
from several feet depth ; the rapidity with which the red loam of 
the placer mines of the Sierra Nevada foot-hills is re-covered with 
the natural forest growth of the region, etc., are examples familiar 
to the residents but surprising to newcomers, who are accustomed 
to dread the upturning of the subsoil as likely to deprive them of 
remunerative crops for several years, until the "raw" subsoil has 
had time to be "vitalized" by the fallowing effect of the atmos- 
phere, and to acquire the needful amounts of humus or vegetable 
mold. Thus the surface soil, which in the humid regions supplies 
the bulk of the nourishment, becomes here of minor importance, 
serving chiefly as a mulch to prevent waste of moisture; while 
the active process of nutrition occurs in the deeper portion of the 
soil stratum, whose composition, as well as condition of disinte- 
gration and aeration, is substantially the same as above. The 
second foot is rarely found to differ materially from the first, even 
as to humus content ; for the latter, being almost exclusively 
derived from the humification of roots, the leaves and herbage on 
the surface being mostly oxodized away under the intense heat 
and abundant aeration of summer; it not uncommonly happens in 
very porous soils that the first six inches of surface soil are poorer 
in humus than the second foot. 

Practical Results of Lightness and Depth. — The "lightness" 
and pervioustiess of the prevailing soils of the arid region permit 
of the penetration of roots to depths which in the humid region are 
inaccessible to them on account of the dense subsoils, which pre- 
vent the needful access of air. This deep penetration enables even 
annual plants to avail themselves directly of the stores of moisture 
in the substrata, at depths which in the humid region are scarcely 
reached save by the tap-roots of some perennials and trees ; while 
the latter themselves reach depths never approached by them in 
the region of summer rains. Professor Hilgard has personally 
found the ends of the roots of grape-vines at a depth of twenty- 
three feet, in a gravelly clay-loam ; from ten to fifteen feet are 
ordinary depths reached by the root system of fruit trees. Even 
the roots of cereals have been found to penetrate to a depth of 
twelve feet in California sandy alluvial soils and to fourteen feet 
in loams. Such depth of rooting, when conservation of moisture is 
secured by proper surface cultivation, enables deciduous fruit trees 
to grow thriftily and bear fine fruit through six months of drouth 
while as many weeks of drouth may bring distress and loss of 



30 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

fruit to surface-rooting trees on the shallow soils of the humid 
region. Recent investigations at the California Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station have also disclosed that the good physical and 
chemical conditions of the deeper layers of our soils have also 
made possible the penetration from the surface layers, of various 
forms of micro organisms upon which we are dependent not only 
for a solution of the insoluble plant food, but for the addition of 
nitrogen to the soil from the atmosphere. 

Richness. — The foregoing conditions are rendered the more sig- 
nificant and effective through the third characteristic of soils 
formed in arid climates. The average aggregate amounts of plant- 
food ingredients are markedly greater in the arid than in the humid 
soils, wherever their derivation is at all generalized. Among the 
agriculturally important ingredients contained in larger average 
amounts in the arid soils than in the humid, lime stands foremost; 
its percentage in soils not derived from calcareous formations being 
from twelve to fourteen times greater in the arid than in the humid 
soils. Magnesia follows lime in this respect, but the average differ- 
ence is only about half as great. The. average content of potash 
in the arid soils exceeds that in the humid in about the proportion 
of one to three or four. But no such constant difference exists in 
respect to phosphoric acid. As regards humus, and the nitrogen 
of which it is the carrier and reservoir, its amount is usually con- 
siderably less than in the humid soils; but the total nitrogen per- 
centage does not differ widely, because the humus of arid soils 
contains, on the average, from three to five times as much nitrogen 
as is found in the humus of humid soils, and therefore, the supply 
of soil nitrogen is very nearly the same in both regions, while from 
several causes, the humus-nitrogen of arid soils is more available 
to plants. 

Practical Lessons from the Constitution of Our Soils. — The ex- 
traordinary depth of our soils, which reveals a favorable physical, 
chemical and biological nature, teaches the importance and essen- 
tial nature of : (1) deep tillage; (2) deep incorporation of manures 
and fertilizers ; (3) deep irrigation. It is clear that if we can make 
conditions just as congenial for the roots of plants in the lower 
layers of the soil as in the upper, there is but one course left open 
to us, namely : taking advantage of the opportunities afforded us 
by nature, if we would maintain the fertility of our soils. To do 
this we must encourage the deep rooting of our trees, and nothing 
in the line of soil management can accomplish the desired end so 
well as making available to the roots in the deeper soil layers, air, 
plant food and water by the methods above enumerated. 



FINE, DEEP LOAMS 31 

CLASSIFICATION OF CALIFORNIA SOILS 

Any attempt to classify the soils of California upon scientific 
lines or even to describe them in their wonderful variety, according 
to their geographical occurrence, would lead beyond the limitations 
of a treatise upon the practice of fruit growing. Rather let an 
attempt be made to designate certain grades of soil with brief 
characterization of their leading features as they are related to the 
growth of fruits. By such a course it may be made to appear that 
though the soils of the State are predominantly light, deep and rich 
and thus eminently fitted for fruit growing, there are many degrees 
in the possession of these characters or any of them, in local soils, 
and upon this individual manifestation they rate all the way from 
perfection to defectiveness. Let a classification proceed then upon 
a descending scale. 

Light, Deep Loams. — Admixture of clay with enough coarse 
materials to secure permeability to air and water, ease in cultiva- 
tion, deep root penetration and free drainage of surplus water, 
])roduces soil of the highest adaptability to the growth of fruit trees 
and vines. These soils are popularly known as loams. They are 
designated as sandy loams, medium loams and clay loams, accord- 
ing to the proportion of clay commingled with the sand or coarse 
materials. 

Professor Hilgard has devised the following nomenclature of 
soils based upon their content of clay : Sandy soils, less than 5 
])er cent of clay; sandy loams, from 5 to 10 per cent; ordinary or 
medium loams, from 10 to 15 per cent; clay loams, from 15 to 20 
per cent ; clay soils, from 20 to 50 per cent of clay. 

The coarse materials are sand grains of various sizes or rock 
particles in various degrees of disintegration. The fine materials 
are clay and rock powder, commonly designated as fine silt. Loam 
soils may result from deposits by flowing water or may consist 
of debris but little removed from local rock disintegration. They 
include a wide variety of materials but agree in the possession of 
striking adaptability to fruit culture. Some of the leading instances 
of such soils may be cited. 

Loams of the Valley Plains. — On the east side of the Sacra- 
mento Valley low ridges and swales at right angles to the river's 
course come in from the foothills, forming a gently undulating 
l^lain with a fall of from fifteen to twenty feet per mile, sometimes 
right up to the river channels. Nearly all the soils of the east side 
have a reddish tinge, showing the admixture of the red foothill 
soil and demonstrating, by the way, that all these lands are well 
drained. In cuts ten to twelve feet deep, made by the sloughs, the 
reddish plains loam is seen to reach from six to ten feet in depth. 



32 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW TO GROW THEM 

being then underlaid by gravelly substrata. The width of this 
class of profusely fertile valley land, east and west, varies consid- 
erably, according to the meanderings of the rivers. Away from the 
water courses, the higher lands of the valleys are largely red or 
yellow loams, sometimes clayey and difficult of cultivation unless 
taken just in the right condition, sometimes gravelly and apt to 
dry out unless the natural water supply is supplemented by irriga- 
<^^ion, but mostly a free-working, fairly retentive, light loam, very 
satisfactory for some kinds of fruit. 

The soils of the San Joaquin Valley have, as a rule, a much 
greater admixture of sand than those of the Sacramento Valley ; 
there is also a more distinct subdivision of the valley lands into 
upland or "bench" lands, and lowland or alluvial lands proper. 

Upon the upland or plains soils, especially of Fresno and Tulare 
counties, wonderful progress in fruit-growing by irrigation has 
been made during the last few years. Though its summer aspect 
is most forbidding and almost desert-like in lack of vegetation, 
the application of water has shown exceptional quickness of 
growth, early bearing, and lavish productiveness of tree and vine. 
These plains loams vary in appearance, and are from this fact 
locally named, "reddish loam," "white ash," and "sand hill." All 
are distinctly calcareous. Even in the case of the latter, which is 
the lightest and made of almost 90 per cent of inert sand, it is so 
deep and has its plant food in such highly available condition that 
it is producing very large crops of fruits where there is no rise of 
the bottom water to prevent root penetration. In the foothills 
of the Sierra Nevada there are some loose loams of light color 
resulting from the decomposition of granite, but they are as a rule 
inferior to the red foothill soils, which are more clayey, and will 
be mentioned among the clay loams later. 

The soils prevailing in the valley of Southern California, from 
Redlands at its head to Los Angeles at its opening out toward the 
sea, consist chiefly of granitic sand, which at some points on the 
slopes forms the soils exclusively, but everywhere constitutes a 
prominent ingredient of the valley and mesa lands. These mesa 
lands are conspicuous for their orange-red tint, and the red sandy 
loam of which they are composed, to depths varying from ten to 
as much as eighty feet, is evidently the choice soil for orange 
culture. It is manifest that at some remote epoch it filled the 
entire valley. Of the middle portion much has been washed away, 
but islands of it form red-land tracts of greater or less extent all 
over the region, traversed by and more or less commingled with, 
the gigantic wash from the valleys and canyons of the Sierra 
Madre. The latter frequently consists largely of gravel, and were 
it not for the luxuriant natural vegetation borne by these gravel 
beds, few would have thought of devoting them to the costly 



VALLEY ALLUVIAL LOAMS 33 

experiment of orange planting, which, nevertheless, has proved 
eminently successful even on these unpromising-looking masses 
of debris. In the upper valley (San Bernardino Valley proper) the 
red loam is conspicuous, and gives its name to the flourishing city 
and citrus district of Redlands, on the terminal slope; but the 
heavy flow of water from the upper canyons, notably from that 
of the Santa Ana River, has scoured it out of the valley itself, and 
left there, at least on the northern portion, gray and blackish 
granitic loams of great depth and productiveness, underlaid, and 
therefore underdrained, by the enormous gravel beds that hold the 
artesian water of this favored region. 

The reddish mesa soils prevail through the smaller Southern 
California valleys as well, and are similar in character, as they are 
derived from similar geological formations. 

Where the surface descends gradually to the seashore, and not 
in bluffs, there are as in Los Angeles and Orange counties, coast 
flats several miles in width, where the soil is a dark-colored sandy 
loam, glistening with scales of mica, and more or less affected 
with alkali in the lower portions. Similar soils are found in tracts 
of greater or less extent up the coast as far as Santa Barbara at 
least. As a rule, these seashore lands are very productive, but 
fruits for them must be chosen with reference to their low level 
and exposure to coast influences. 

The light loams of the so-called desert region of Southern Cali- 
fornia are not inferior in productive capacity to some of the best 
soils of the great valley, which it greatly resembles, save in the 
scarcity of humus, or vegetable matter. Only a detailed survey, 
however, can determine the tracts having an arable soil, as against 
those overrun by arid sand. The soil of the Colorado River bottom 
is highly productive, easily worked, being quite light. It is a highly 
calcareous soil, and now, as the water of the Colorado River 
has been made available for irrigation, is yielding rich returns for 
cultivation. 

The valleys of the seaward slope of the Coast Range have mostly 
gray, light, and silty, rather than sandy soils, quite similar in 
appearance from Ventura to Humboldt county, though differing 
considerably in composition, those of the southern region being 
more calcareous, and apparently richer in phosphoric acid; as the 
coast region consists for the most part of low ranges with inter- 
vening valleys, the valleys are, as a rule, small, though a few show 
considerable area. In such a country the soil surface shows wide 
diversity within smaller areas than on the vast stretches of the 
great interior valley; consequently, so far as soil goes, the coast 
farms are often suited to a wider range of fruits than the interior 
valley farms of similar size. 



34 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ALLUVIAL OR SEDLMENTARY LOAMS 

These soils have been considered from the earliest plantings 
by Americans as par excellence the fruit soils of the great valley 
of central and northern California. They occur along the courses 
of existing streams, and extend back to variable distances, until 
they merge into the valley loams, or adobes. These deposits are 
considerably higher than the present beds of the streams, and are 
sometimes described as "next to river bottom." They consist of 
fine alluvium, with seldom any admixture of coarse materials. 
These river soils are usually very deep and they are naturally well 
drained. 

These deposits cross the valley in somewhat irregular courses ; 
they are of greater or less width according to the drainage area 
whence they have come. They vary also in depth, and taper down 
on either side to the level of the red loam or adobe upon which 
they have been deposited. Such strips are first chosen by the fruit 
planters of the district in which they occur. In the valleys of 
the rivers crossing the eastern side of the San Joaquin Valley, 
there are, bordering the streams as well as Tulare Lake, consid- 
erable areas of brown to blackish loam varying from heavy to light, 
but for the most part easily tilled and exceedingly rich. Consid- 
erable fruit has been grown for years on these situations, and some 
kinds do well on these bottoms which do not show adaptation 
to the plains. Some even of the higher lying portions of these 
"black lands" support thrifty orchards without irrigation. The 
wider stretches of alluvial soils in the upper part of the valley, as 
in the Mussel Slough country and the Visalia region, for instance, 
are notably well adapted to fruit growing. The occasional intru- 
sion of alkali, which must be carefully avoided, is the chief obstacle 
to the general approval of these alluvial lands for fruit purposes. 

Soil of similar character is found in some small valleys con- 
sisting of an alluvial wash from the bordering hills which in some 
places reaches a depth of thirty feet or more without notable 
change in character. Such soils have proved very fertile and 
durable. 

The rich river bottom, adjacent to the beds of the main rivers 
and sloughs of the valley, has usually a dark, rich, and moist soil, 
easily tilled and not subject to baking and cracking. It is largely 
used for the growth of vegetables and alfalfa, but considerable 
areas have been planted with fruit trees, especially with pears, 
which do not suffer from submergence of their roots for consid- 
erable time. 

In the coast valleys of the State there are also very extensive 
areas of alluvial soils which are largely used in fruit production, 
as well as upland loams formed in place by the disintegration of 



USES OF ilEAVV LOAMS 35 

local rock formations. The famous fruit region extending from 
Oakland southward nearly one hundred miles, including the Ala- 
meda and Santa Clara Valleys, has very large areas of alluvial soil, 
ranging from deep, rich blackish loams used for vegetables and 
small fruits to lighter loams resulting from intermixture of sedi- 
ment brought by streams from adjacent hillsides with the clay of 
the valley bottom. It is to these deep, rich alluvial deposits that 
the region owes its great reputation in fruit lines. 

CLAY LOAMS 

Or loams containing sufficient clay to render them somewhat 
heavy and tenacious, there is also a great variety in California. 
Their suitability for different fruits depends upon selection of roots 
adapted to their character and upon the depth and degree of reten- 
tiveness of the soils themselves. They are more difficult of tillage 
than the free loams, but offer some compensation therefor in their 
richness and durability. 

Clay Loams of the Foothills and Valley Border. — The soils of 
the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, throughout its courses along the 
great valley, vary from a moderately clayey loam to a heavy, though 
not uncommonly gravelly, often orange-red clay. This character 
seems to be sensibly the same, whether the soil be derived from 
the decomposition of the ancient slate bed-rock or directly from 
the dark-colored granites, thus creating a presumption that the two 
rocks are closely related. The soils are highly charged with iron 
to the extent of from seven to over twelve per cent, which being 
finely divided, imparts to them the intense orange-red tint. The 
soils of the foothills agree with the soils of the valley in having a 
good percentage of lime, while the supply of potash and phos- 
phates, as well as of organic matter, is smaller, and sometimes low, 
though never apparently inadequate for present productiveness, in 
the presence of so much lime. 

Along the base of the foot-hills of the Sierra there is in Fresno, 
Tulare, and part of Kern county, a narrow belt, irregular in width, 
of partly red and partly black clay or adobe, so highly calcareous 
as to break up, when dry, into small fragments, producing a con- 
dition that has received the name "dry bog." It is upon this that 
many of the citrus orchards of the Porterville and Mt. Campbell 
districts are chiefly grown. A white, calcareous marl sometimes 
occurs beneath this soil at var5nng depths, producing chlorosis or 
yellowing of citrus leaves, owing to its impervious nature which 
does not allow of good drainage and therefore kills the roots through 
suffocation and acid production. Westward of this "dry bog" land 
there is a belt of reddish or brown loam soils, corresponding to those 
similarly located in the Sacramento Valley, but generally more 



36 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

clayey, and hence frequently designated as adobe by contrast with 
the very sandy soils of the valley at large, although properly they 
should be classed simply as clayey loams. This belt is eight to ten 
miles wide in middle Tulare county and narrows to the north and 
south. Here these lands have a gentle slope of ten to twenty feet 
per mile from the base of the foothills, and appear to be underlaid 
at a depth of twelve to fifteen feet by water-bearing gravel. The 
soil is a reddish, more or less sandy, loam, changing little in its 
aspect for several feet. Its adaptation to fruit is shown by the 
products of the Lindsay region. 

CLAY SOILS 

Thus far a very small area of true adobe* soil has been employed 
in horticulture. There is a great difference in the character of 
what is known as adobe in different localities. Its color varies, as 
the popular terms "black waxy," "black," "brown," and "gray" 
adobe indicate. Its physical condition and chemical composition 
also vary greatly. The black adobe of the east side of the Sacra- 
mento Valley is easily tilled as compared with the gray adobe 
on the west side, which is very refractory and often largely impreg- 
nated with alkali. To render soil of adobe character useful for 
fruit growing, this tendency to dry out and crack, thus allowing 
evaporation from below as well as from the surface, must be over- 
come. The discussion of this point belongs to the chapter on 
cultivation. Adobe soils are, as a rule, rich and durable and there- 
fore promise long fruitfulness to trees and vines with roots adapted 
to heavy soils, but difficulty of cultivation, excessive retention of 
water, and other evils are always present. Some suggestions on 
the treatment of such soils will be given in the chapter on fertil- 
ization. 

DEFECTIVE SOILS 

Although California soils are predominantly of the depth, light- 
ness and richness best suited to the growth and bearing of fruit 
trees and vines, it should always be borne in mind that there are 
marked exceptions, and failure to observe this fact has resulted in 
considerable disappointment and loss. There is in California much 
land which is bad from a horticultural point of view and it is apt 
to occur even in the vicinity of lands of the highest excellence. It 
is, therefore, necessary to advise that the closest examination be 
inade before investment be made in the planting of fruits. 

Although there are instances of deficiency in plant food in Cali- 

* This name has been erroneously applied to the loam commonly used in the construction 
of adolje houses. Agriculturally, it means "a heavy clay soil," such as could not be used in 
building. 



DEFECTIVE SOILS O/ 

fornia soils and considerable areas of land sterile through excess 
of saline and alkaline salts, these are usually indicated by the local 
reputation of the tracts, if the newcomer will take pains to make 
inquiry. It is rather the more obscure, subsoil conditions which 
lead to loss or failure, and they may be unknown even to men who 
have owned or farmed the land for years for ordinary field crops. 
These defects are, in the main, three : 

Leachy Subsoils. — While it is best in all cases to choose deep 
soils for cropping purposes, it is frequently profitable to grow fruit 
on soils with defective subsoils. Among these defective subsoils 
there is frequently encountered, underlying good alluvial loams, 
a very pervious sand or gravel which allows of a too rapid escape 
of moisture and plant food. This may result in starving the tree 
or killing it for want of water. Under such circumstances it is pos- 
sible with three or four feet of good loam above the gravel to 
maintain profitably the shallower rooted trees by practicing heavy 
green manuring and constant summer cultivation to conserve what 
moisture the loam retains. 

Hardpan. — It has frequently been observed that even where 
hardpan has been blasted prior to tree planting, the evil effects of 
waterlogging in a rather retentive overlying soil have either killed 
trees or made them unprofitable. This condition -occurs not only on 
level land, but also on rather steep hillsides where on a priori considera- 
tions it would never be expected. In such cases drainage gives imme- 
diate relief and the maintenance of a good humus supply in the soil 
with constant summer cultivation, will usually insure good moisture 
conditions. 

"Plow Sole" or "Plow Pan." — Constant plowing to the same 
depth or a failure to break up thoroughly the silty deposit at the 
bottom of irrigation furrows may in a few seasons produce a har- 
dened and difificultly permeable layer of soil known, according to 
its origin, as plow sole or "irrigation hardpan." This may also be 
aggravated through the treading of stock and fruit pickers. Such 
hardened soil layers interfere with root development and make for 
poor aeration and water supply. They must be broken up by plow- 
ing or subsoiling. 

Rise of Ground Water. — The rise of the water table mainly 
due to excessive irrigation or the impermeability of one of the un- 
derlying soil layers is a question of the most serious significance 
and one which the prospective purchaser of land or the owner of 
cropped land must not lose sight of. For this reason precautions 
taken in the examination of land for hardpan, irrigation with neces- 
sary, but not superfluous, amounts of water and adequate provision 
for drainage will not only go far toward making land profitable 



38 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM 

at the time cropping is commenced, but will prevent troubles for 
the future through the accumulation of alkali and other baneful 
physiological effects on plants of a high water table. 

Alkali. — The term "alkali" denotes an accumulation of salts, in 
a limited depth of soil, which may be of such nature and quantity 
as to render the soil partially or totally unfit for profitable cropping. 
The term has no necessary reference to the reaction of the soil, 
as is commonly supposed, therefore a misnomer, and should not be 
confused with the term "alkaline," as referred to soil since the lat- 
ter denotes merely a "sweet" or favorable condition for the develop- 
ment of most of our crop plants. 

The "alkali" salts may include common salt, Glauber salt, car- 
bonate of soda, Epsom salt, the chlorides of calcium and magnesium 
and more rarely some others, but for practical purposes we may 
take the ordinary classification namely that of "black" and "white" 
alkali as being sufficient for the needs of soil management. By the 
"black" alkali which is by far the most harmful of the sodium 
of salts mentioned, we mean carbonate of soda. It is so called 
because it dissolves out the humus and forms a black slimy layer 
on the surface. Very small quantities of this salt are sufficient 
to make clay soils unworkable because of the puddling effect it has 
on clay, and similarly very small quantities of it have the power of 
stopping the important process of nitrification. Since poorly aerated 
soils in the arid region are favorable to the reactions which produce 
"black" alkali, especially where carbonates are plentiful or where 
excessive amounts of nitrate of soda are used for fertilizing, no 
pains should be spared to insure to soils, as nearly as possible, 
perfect aeration through drainage and tillage, great care should be 
exercised in the use of irrigation water, and nitrate of soda should 
be employed sparingly. 

The term "white alkali" is usually applied to either common 
salt or Glauber salt or both in soils. Where present in sufficient 
quantity white alkali salts may, through evaporation of water, be 
deposited on the surface of the soil as a white effloresence, such as 
that seen in exaggerated form on the Nevada desert, on some soils 
of the San Joaquin Valley and on some of the Coachella Valley 
soils. Of the "white" alkali salts common salt is by far the more 
harmful and most fruit trees are not very resistant to it. They 
can, however, be successfully grown in very considerable quantities 
of Glauber salt. 

The actual tolerance of fruit trees for the various salts men- 
tioned, varies greatly with the different trees for the different salts, 
and it is always best, when planting on alkali land is contemplated, 
to consult the revised reprint of Bulletins 128 and 133 of the Cali- 
fornia Experiment Station, and after having determinations for 
alkali made on the soil, to be guided by the information therein 



DKF1-:CTIVE SOILS 39 

contained. The same publication also contains much valuable in- 
formation with reference to the reclamation of alkali land and 
describes conditions under which it may and may not be feasible to 
reclaim such lands so as to preclude the possibility of useless ex- 
penditures. 

Prospecting for Soil Defects. — For subterranean prospecting, 
Professor Hilgard commends a steel rod not less than a quarter 
of an inch in diameter (round or square, preferably the latter), well 
pointed at one end, and provided at the other with a stout iron 
ring for the reception of a stout cross-handle, such as is used for 
post-hole augers. With such a prod, or sounding rod, not less than 
five feet in length, the exploration of the subsoil for hard-pan or 
dense clay layers becomes a matter of a few minutes. It is easy 
also to detect thus the presence of underlying layers of quicksand, 
gravel, or other loose materials through which irrigation water 
would waste, or which would prevent the rise of bottom water 
within the reach of plant roots, by the large interspaces between 
their grains. Any remaining doubts as to the nature of such under- 
lying materials at particular points can then quickly be solved by 
the use of a post-hole auger or by digging, for thorough inspection 
of each foot of depth which may be found desirable. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 

The wild fruits of California are numerous, and for the most 
part peculiar to the region, being either of local genera or local 
species of more widely distributed genera. Very few are identical 
with the wild fruits common to great areas of the continent. For 
this reason our wild fruits constitute a very interesting subject 
for botanical study, and they are now, perhaps, more widely than 
ever before, attracting the attention of botanical pomologists. 
Viewed from the standpoint of practical pomology or horticulture, 
our wild fruits can not be claimed, on the whole, to have attained 
any very great importance. 

A few fruits, as will be noted further on, have demonstrated 
their culinary or household value, and are locally sought for, but 
none have any notable commercial value. This may be due to the 
fact that some of our most delicious wild fruits are very exacting in 
their choice of conditions, and can not be moved far, even within 
the limits of our own State. 

Another reason why we have made little of our own wild 
species is found in the fact that our climate favors the superior 
growth of the best improved fruits of nearly all parts of the world. 
Therefore, we have little occasion for recourse to the improvement 
of local wild fruits, because of superior hardiness and adaptation, 
as has been done in other parts of the country. 

The distribution of our wild fruits is determined by limitations 
of areas of similar climatic conditions. In a general way it may 
be said that fruits are most abundant in foothill and mountain 
regions, and that our great valleys have always been practically 
destitute of them, except along stream borders. These fruits are 
most abundant in the northern portion of the State, but some exist 
throughout the State, usually thriving at higher elevations as they 
proceed southward. 

Oregon Crabapple (Pirus rivularis). — This fruit, though more 
abundant in the more northerly regions of the coast, as its name 
indicates, is found in the northwest counties of this State. It 
chooses a moist situation, becomes a tree fifteen to twenty-five feet 
high, shows white bloom, and red or yellow oblong fruit, about 
half an inch long. The flavor is rather acid, but the fruit is eaten 
by the Indians, and was sometimes used for jelly-making by early 
settlers. 

Wild Plum (Prunus subcordata). — This must be regarded as 
one of the most useful of our wild fruits. Even now, when the 

40 



WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 41 

plum varieties of all the world have been introduced, residents in 
some of the Sierra reg-ions, where an excellent variety (Kelloggii) 
abounds, prefer it to the cultivated fruit, both for eating and pre- 
serving and jelly-making. The typical species is widely distributed 
over the mountainous regions of the State, and is a low shrub with 
white bloom and fruit three-quarters of an inch long, of red color 
and inferior pulp. The better variety has a narrower range, forms 
a larger shrub, and bears a^yellow fruit, larger and better than the 
typical species. Some attempts have been made to improve this 
variety by cultivation and selection of seedlings, and the results 
are promising, as fruit has been shown at our fairs notably better 
than the wild gatherings. The roots have also been used to some 
extent as stocks, but seem to possess no marked advantage. The 
late Mr. Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, reported that grafting an 
improved plum on the wild stock seems to cause the root to grow 
to much greater size than natural to it. Observation upon grafted 
and non-grafted seedlings in the same nursery row convinced him 
of this behavior. Other experimenters have condemned the stock 
because of dwarfing and suckering. In early days the wild plums 
in the mining regions of the mountains were largely made use of 
and are highly praised by pioneers. 

Oso Berry (Osmaronia cerasiformis). — This fruit is sometimes 
called the "California false plum." It has a plum-like form, one- 
half inch long, and is of a rich, blue-black color, but is bitter, though 
not disagreeable to birds and animals, which feed upon it. The 
white bloom of the shrub has an almond odor. Used as a stock, 
the plum varieties grafted upon it have been dwarfed. 

Wild Cherries (Prunus sp.)- — Quite a group of wild fruits come 
under this generic grouping, and they have marked and widely 
different characteristics. The western Choke-cherry (Prunus 
demissa) closely resembles the Eastern choke-cherry, and bears its 
round, red, or dark purple fruit on a raceme. It is used for marma- 
lade by housewives in the mountain districts. This species has 
proved of sonic utility both for its fruit and as a stock for grafting 
in early days when better cherry stock was not available. Another 
species, Islay (Prunus ilicifolia), has evergreen foliage, and is a 
useful hedge plant. 

Of species bearing fruit in umbels, or true cherry style, we have 
the Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata), which makes a handsome 
tree, sometimes thirty feet high, but its oval, dark red fruit is quite 
bitter and astringent. The bush form bearing bright red fruit 
intensely bitter, is the variety Calif ornica. 

California Grape (Vitis Californica). — Along our streams the 
native grape-vine attains large size and fruits freely, the fruit 
resembling the "frost grape" of the East. The vine frequently 



42 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

covers and sometimes kills large trees with the density of its 
foliage. Some variation is reported in the species, but it is possible 
that some of the better kinds are seedlings from some imported 
species, bird planted. The species has attained something of a 
reputation as a phyloxera-resisting root for grafting, but it has 
proved exacting in its choice of soils and situations, and otherwise 
not desirable, and some Eastern species are now relied upon for this 
service. 

Elderberry (Sambucus glauca). — -The elderberry makes a fine 
tree in California, sometimes twenty feet or more in height, and 
with a trunk a foot and a half in diameter. The fruit is borne in 
large quantities and is used to some extent for preserves and pastry. 

Raspberries (Rubus sp.). — In the mountains of the eastern part 
of the State is a scarlet hemispherical berry of pleasant flavor, 
which is called "thimbleberry" (Rubus parviflorus.) It seems to 
have an advantage over a variety (velutinus) of the same species 
which is found near the coast and has a dry, insipid fruit. Another 
raspberry, which is found in all hilly and mountainous regions, 
both on the coast and in the interior is Rubus leucodermis. It 
resembles the black-cap raspberry of the Atlantic slope, except that 
it has yellowish-red fruit. This fruit is quite largely gathered for 
domestic uses, and some efforts have been made to cultivate the 
plants. 

Salmon Berry (Rubus spectabilis.) — The beauty, size, and de- 
licious flavor of this fruit are highly commended by all who have 
enjoyed it in the upper coast counties of California and farther 
northward. The plant makes a strong bush, five to ten feet high, 
and delights in woods and shady banks of streams. The praise 
of all who know the fruit has led to frequent attempts to introduce 
the plant to warmer and drier parts of the State, but such efforts 
have thus far uniformly failed. 

Wild Blackberry (Rubus vitifolius). — This fruit should perhaps 
be called a "dewberry," as it has trailing, or, at most, but partially 
raised stems, which extend from five to twenty feet. The plant 
occurs abundantly on banks of streams and other sufficiently moist 
locations, both in the coast and interior regions of the State. 
Around the margin of Humboldt Bay, on land cleared by fire or 
axe, blackberries spring up abundantly on the denuded land. Tons 
of the fruit are said to remain after the local housewives have done 
their utmost in preserving and jelly-making. In the low-land region 
around Stockton considerable quantities are sometimes gathered 
for sale. The fruit, which has been held in high repute ever since 
pioneer days, is oblong, black, and sweet. The species is variable, 
and the anomaly, a white blackberry, has been reported from Del 
Norte coimty. The native wild blackberry is one of the parents 



WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 43 

of the Loganberry and of some of Mr. Burbank's hybrids which 
are widely grown. 

Wild Strawberries (Fragaria sp.)- — We have in California two 
Eastern species : Fragaria vesca and F. Virginiana. Thus far these 
have only been reported from localities in the Sierra mountain 
region. Another, the sand strawberry, has been found identical 
with a South American species, Chilensis, and it occurs along the 
coast, where the fruit is esteemed, and is sometimes abundant 
enough to gather in quantity. A fourth species, wood strawberry, 
is local, and is named Californica. It bears a small round fruit and 
is partial to the coast region. Recently some cultural attention 
has been given to the wild strawberries, and varieties worthy of 
propagation have been reported by growers resident in the Sierra 
region. Mr. Albert F. Etter of Ettersburg, Humboldt county, has 
secured notable results in crossing with the wild strawberry, as will 
be noted in the chapter on that fruit. 

Wild Gooseberries and Currants (Ribes sp.). — Some of our 
currant species arc achie\ing (juite a reputation al^road as orna- 
mental shrubs, but they bear insipid fruit. The fruit of Ribes tenni- 
fiorum is, however, more agreeable, and is esteemed for jellies, etc., by 
dwellers in its region, which is the mountain region of the extreme 
north of the State. We also have a species {bractcosmn) which has 
something of the black currant flavor and a fair-sized fruit, black with 
whitish bloom, and very sweet. 

There are also several species of Ribes which are classed with the 
gooseberries, but only three bear edible fruit. One of these (Ribes 
divaricatiim) is peculiar to this coast; another (Ribes oxyacanthoides) 
occurs at an elevation in the Sierra Nevada and thence extends eastward 
beyond the Rocky Mountains. The berries are small to medium, of 
pleasant flavor, and well armed with spines. Another species (Ribes 
leptanthimi), common in San Luis Obispo and Kern counties, resembles 
the flavor of the cultivated gooseberry, and is free from spines. 

Cranberries and Huckleberries (Vaccinium sp.). — We have sev- 
eral species belonging to the same botanical genus as the Eastern 
cranberry, but quite different from it both in growth of plant and 
character of fruit. The fruit of two species is reddish, but insipid. 
Other species (V. ovatum, ete.) have dark blue or purple fruit. 
Some of these are locally esteemed, and the argument drawn from 
them is that the cranberry of commerce would succeed. It should 
be stated, howe^•er, that the situations in which these plants thrive 
are not at all according to the requirements of the bog cranberry. 
A huckleberry (Vaeciniiim ovatum) is largely gathered in the red- 
wood region of Northern California, for canning and pie-making. 
The berries are juicy and delicious, and the preserved fruit has a 
very agreeable flavor. In one year as many as two thousand boxes 
were profitably gathered on the hills of western Sonoma county. 



44 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Other Berries. — There are many small, wild fruits commonly 
designated as berries, which are of considerable botanical interest. 
The fruit, too, may be said to be edible, judging by the taste of 
Indians, birds, and wild beasts, but not likely to be much more than 
ornamental in the eyes of white people. They may be briefly 
enumerated : 

The "manzanita" (various species of Arctostaphylos, especially A. 
mansanifa) the "little apple" of the Spaniard, bears a rather dry but 
sub-acid fruit. 

The "bear berry" (Arctostaphylos uvaursi) is esteemed by the 
Indiafts both as food and medicine. 

The "western buffalo berry" (Shcpherdia argentea) has small acid 
edible fruits. 

The "salal" (Gaulthcria shallon), small fruit, either red or purple, 
is also a favorite of the aborigines. 

Of "barberries" we have three species of Berheris. One, aqui- 
foliuni, is called the "Oregon grape," chiefly notable for its hand- 
some bloom, which has been chosen the State flower of Oregon. 
The fruit is dark blue and the root is said to be a febrifuge. An- 
other species (nervosa) has a larger fruit, which is esteemed in 
cookery; and a third species (pinnata) bears a small, pleasant- 
flavored fruit. It is the Lena amarilla of the Spanish Californians. 

Our "service berry" (Amelanchier alnifoHa) is from a quarter 
to a third of an inch in diameter and of a purple color. 

The "lemon berry" is a fruit of Rhus integrifolia, and is coated 
with an acid exudation which is said to dissolve in water and make 
a pleasant drink. The fruit of RJnis trUohata is said to have both 
a sweet and an acid coating. 

The berries of the "toyon" or "tollon" (Heteromeles arhutifolia), 
or "California holly," are said to be eaten by Indians, but they serve 
the white people a better purpose in Christmas decorations. 

The "jujube" of commerce (Zisyphus jiijnba) has a local rela- 
tive in Zisyphiis parryi, which is, however, dry, and mealy, rather 
than juicy. 

The "beach strawberry," or "sea fig," is the fruit of Mescmhrian- 
themuni aequilaterale, a relative of the ice-plant. The good-sized 
fruit is gathered along the seashore, and remotely suggests a straw- 
berry. 

Wild Olive (Forestieria Neo-mexicana). — This is a tall willow- 
like shrub, found in springy places on the borders of the Mojave 
Desert. It also grows in the Salinas Valley. It bears an abundance 
of small fruits which, from their botanical relationship to the olive, have 
attracted some attention. Experiments to determine its standing as a 
possible root for the olive have been suggested. 

Wild Nuts of California. — The wild nuts of California are of 



WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 45 

very little commercial importance. The wild almond [FrunHs 
Andersoiiii) of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas is chiefly of 
botanical interest, although some experiments are in progress in 
its use as a grafting stock for the sweet almond. The California 
filbert {Corylus Californica) has none of the quality of the im- 
proved filberts nor even of the wild hazelnut. Our native chestnut, 
the giant Chinquapin {Castanopsis chrysophylla) has a sweet kernel, 
but a hard shell, almost like a hazelnut; its near relative, Castanopsis 
sempervirens or Bush Chinquapin of the Sierra Nevada and dry Coast 
Range, is said to have a bitter flavored kernel. The nuts of both of 
these species are very difficult to obtain because the fruit sets sparingly 
and the squirrels harvest the crop early. Our native walnut {Jiiglaiis 
Californica) is better in flavor than the Eastern black walnut, but its 
hard shell makes it of little commercial account in competition with 
better, cultivated nuts. 

The one native nut which is regularly sold in the local market is the 
"pinenut" — seeds of several species of Pacific Coast pines, particularly 
the "Nevada Nut Pine" or "One-leaf Pinon." Their flavor is somewhat 
resinous, but is agreeable. 

The seeds of two species of palms, lyashingtonia Hlifera and the 
Lower California Erythca armata, are sought for by the Indians, 
who also eat the sweetish fruit of the Yucca Mojavensis, which 
somewhat resembles in shape the banana, and in flavor the fig, and 
is called the "wild date." 

The Indians also use the acorns of several species of California 
oaks as food, extracting the bitterness by soaking in water, and 
then making a rude bread of the acorn meal. 

The "jajoba," or "goat-nut" {Sinimondsia Californica), is a low 
shrub, the fresh fruits of which, deprived of their seed-coats, are eaten 
like almonds, and when dried by fire and ground they are used as a 
beverage, in the form of tablets made up with sugar, or as a simple 
infusion. Fire-dried seeds contain 48.30 per cent of fatty matter; the 
oil is suitable for food and of good quality, and possesses the immense 
advantage of not turning rancid. In Lower California it is prepared 
by boiling with water. 

The nuts of the California laurel were roasted by the native 
tribes and esteemed a great delicacy. Further improvements in the 
preparation process may some day adapt them to the white man's 
tastes. 

Cactus. — The common cactus {Opuntia Engelmanni) bears a sweet 
edible fruit which the Indians dry in large quantities for winter use. 
By long boiling they make a sauce, which, after slight fermentation, 
they consider especially nutritious and stimulating. The local species 
has been used by Mr. Burbank in some of his crossing to secure 
improved spineless fruits on plants of more vigorous growth and 
productiveness. 



CHAPTER V 

CALIFORNIA MISSION FRUITS 

Cultivated fruits were first brought into California from the 
south. Mission work among the Indians of Lower California was 
actually begun by the establishment of the mission at Loreto by 
Salvatierra, October 19, 1697. The following years horses and 
cattle were brought from Mexico, and from this introduction came 
ultimately the vast herds which roamed the hills and plains of Cali- 
fornia. Probably the first seeds and plants of cultivated vegetables 
and fruits came about the same time, for there was a small garden 
and a few fruit trees at Loreto in 1701. But Loreto was not fitted 
for horticulture, and in the same year an expedition in charge of 
Father Ugarte, who is called the founder of agriculture in Lower 
California, crossed over the mountains to a more suitable location 
at the mission of Vigge Biaundo, which had been destroyed some 
time before by hostile Indians. Ugarte restored the mission, made 
irrigating ditches, and planted fruit trees and vines. This effort 
was successful from a horticultural point of view, for in 1707 
Ugarte made more wine than would suffice for mission use, and 
sent some to Mexico in exchange for other goods. Thus began the 
export trade in California wine. 

The Jesuits continued their establishment of missions in Lower 
California until there were fifteen missions, at five of which there 
were vineyards, and presumably as many or more which had gar- 
dens with fruit trees. 

The variety of fruits grown in Lower California was small. 
They had figs, oranges, citrons, pomegranates, plantains, and some 
olives and dates. There were no North European fruits, with the 
exception of a few peaches, which, however, did not appear to 
thrive. 

The Jesuits were supplanted in Lower California, in 1768, by 
the Franciscans. The Franciscans, led by Junipero Serra, at once 
pressed northward, and entered the territory which is now the State 
of California. Their first establishment was at San Diego, in 1769. 
Thence they proceeded northward, braving many perils, and under- 
going great hardships, establishing missions through the coast 
region of the State. Credit is given to the secular head of the 
expedition to San Diego, Don Joseph de Galvez, representing the 
king of Spain, for ordering the carrying of seeds of fruits, grains, 
vegetables, and flowers into the new territory, and from the plant- 
ing at San Diego the same varieties were taken to the twenty mis- 
sions afterwards established. 

46 



MISSION FRUITS AFTER GOLD DISCOVERY 47 

Kinds of Fruit at the Missions. — It is of no little interest to 
ascertain how great a variety of fruits was grown in these mission 
orchards. Vancouver, in 1792, found a fine orchard at Santa Clara, 
with apple, peach, pear, apricot, and fig trees, all thrifty and prom- 
ising. He also describes at the mission of San Buena Ventura 
apples, pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes, and peaches and pome- 
granates. Robinson described the orchards connected with the 
Mission of San Gabriel as very extensive, having among their trees 
oranges, citrons, limes, apples, pears, peaches, pomegranates, and 
figs. There were also grapes in abundance. Edwin Bryant noticed 
at San Luis Obispo Mission the orange, fig, palm, olive, and grape, 
At the Mission San Jose he found an inclosure of fifteen or twenty 
acres, the whole of which was planted with trees and grape-vines. 
There were six hundred pear trees and a large number of apple and 
peach trees, all bearing fruit in great abundance and in full perfec- 
tion. The quality of the pears he found excellent, but the apples 
and peaches indififerent. E. S. Capron, in a general enumeration 
of the fruits grown at the missions, includes cherries. 

Early Planting by Others than the Padres. — Though the earlier 
Spanish population had the example of successful horticulture 
before them for half a century at the missions, they did not seem 
inclined to emulate the efforts of the padres upon their own grounds, 
except in occasional instances. General Vallejo planted fruit trees 
in Sonoma Valley as early as 1830, and of his place it is said: "It is 
an old and well-cultivated place, well known in all the northern 
portions of California while this State was still 'Mexican territory." 
Exceptions there were, also, at the south. The old fruit garden on 
the Camulos Rancho, in Ventura county, has become famous. 
Fremont, writing of his observations in 1846, says that among the 
arid, brush-covered hills south of San Diego he found little valleys 
converted by a single spring into crowded gardens, where pears, 
peaches, quinces, pomegranates, grapes, olives, and other fruits 
grew luxuriantly together. 

Scarcely had six years elapsed subsequent to the settlement 
of the pueblo of San Jose on its present site, before the inhabitants 
were enjoying the benefits of luxurious fruits. Before 1805 more 
was grown than could be disposed of in its natural state. 

DecHne of the Mission Orchards. — The decline of most of the 
mission orchards and gardens followed the secularization of the 
establishments in 1834. There were a few exceptions, where the 
mission lands fell into enterprising Spanish or American hands. 
During the years of neglect, the more tender trees died, and the 
more hardy survived. The pear and the olive vied with the vine 
in withstanding drouth and the trampling and browsing of the 
cattle that roamed unmolested through the deserted gardens. These 



48 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

pears, as will be described presently, were turned to good accouni 
by the early American settlers; the olive and the vine furnished 
cuttings for most of the plantations made during the first twenty 
years or more of American occupation. 

But it seems that not all the mission orchards were permitted to 
fall into decay after the secularization. In 1846 Bryant found at 
the Mission San Jose two gardens inclosed by high adobe walls. 
The area was from fifteen to twenty acres, all of which was planted 
with fruit trees and vines. There were about six hundred pear trees 
and a large number of apple and peach trees, all bearing fruit in 
great abundance, the quality of the pears being excellent, the apples 
and peaches indifferent. Other visitors to some of the mission 
orchards between the events of secularization and American occu- 
pation speak of being regaled with pears and milk, a dish which 
seemed to them ambrosial after the weary journeys overland across 
the deserts, or after months of ship fare. 

Planting of Mission Fruits by Early Settlers. — There were quite 
considerable plantations, chiefly of mission grapes and oranges, by 
early settlers in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. General Bidwell 
saw in Los Angeles in 1845 the largest vineyard that he had seen 
in California, and the vines were the most thrifty. Wine was also 
abundant — even the Angelica. Los Angeles had orchards, also, 
mostly of oranges. The largest orange orchards at that time were 
those of Wolfskin, Carpenter, and Louis Vigne. During recent 
years the modern city of Los Angeles has been built over and 
beyond them. 

Among the early planters of mission fruits in the northern part 
of the State was Yount. who planted vines in Napa Valley in 1838, 
and other fruits later. John Wolfskill, of Winters, saw grapes and 
peaches at Yount's in 1841, and J. M. Pleasant took peach pits from 
Yount's over into Pleasant's Valley, Solano county, in 1851. Dr. 
Marsh, on his place at the base of Mount Diablo, had, in 1842, a 
mission grape vineyard more than an acre in extent, and in good 
bearing. The vines were planted about 1838. Mr. Wolfskill planted 
a few vines on Putah Creek in 1842. 

Partial Revival of the Mission Fruit Gardens. — After the incom- 
ing of Americans in 1849 some of the old mission trees were secured 
by enterprising men, and made to renew their youth by pruning, 
cultivation, and irrigation, that they might minister to the great 
demand for fruit which sprang up among the gold seekers. The 
trees richly reciprocated the care and attention given them, and 
there still exist at the San Gabriel Mission old pear trees grafted 
over with improved varieties by W. M. Stockton in 1854. The first 
fruits offered for sale in San Francisco markets were from the pear 
trees of Santa Clara and San Jose Missions, and from the mission 



RUSSIAN FRUITS 49 

grapevines of the same localities, and of Los Angeles county. 
These grapes, packed in sawdust, came up the coast by steamer, 
and were then re-shipped to the mining camps, arriving for the 
most part in good condition, and were very popular. It is recorded 
that one thousand five hundred tons of these grapes were sent from 
Los Angeles county to San Francisco and the mines in 1852. 
Another instance in which thrift followed neglect is seen in the fact 
that, in 1858, Don Andres Pico, who succeeded to possession of the 
orchard at the San Fernando Mission, did a considerable business 
in drying pears and other fruits, using the labor of the Indians. 

At the present time vestiges of the old mission orchards still 
remain, the pears and olives still bearing, and in some cases the old 
date palms guarding the desolate scenes, or standing as reminders 
of the old regime, while the new life of California is surging up around 
them. 

RUSSIAN FRUITS 

The second introduction of cultivated fruits to California was 
by the Russians. The exact date of their planting at Fort Ross on 
the ocean side in Mendocino county, is not known, but is believed 
to have been as early as 1812. The survivors of the original Russian 
planting look "very old and mossy, and are not very thrifty, but 
still bear some fruit every year." They were planted too closely, 
and have undergone periods of neglect, no doubt. The trees are 
apple for the most part, but there were also cherries, and some of 
both fruits survive. The trees are all believed to have been grown 
from seed, and if this be true some fortunate results were obtained, 
for there is still grown in Green Valley, Sonoma county, a medium- 
sized, bell-shaped apple, lightly striped with red, which is called 
the Fort Ross or Russian apple, and was probably propagated by 
grafts from the Fort Ross orchard. Seeds were also secured from 
this source for propagation of apple trees in early days in that 
section of the State. 



CHAPTER \T 
INTRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES 

The first cultivated fruits of the old era came to California with 
the padres. The iirst fruits of the new era came with the American 
pioneers. Though not a little inquiry has been made, it is not yet 
possible to declare definitely who brought the first budded or 
grafted trees upon California soil. It is a tradition in the family 
of Martin Lelong, who came to California as a member of Steven- 
son's regiment in 1846, that he brought with him a small lot of 
French varieties of apples growing in a box, and that they were 
planted in Los Angeles. 

In the fall of 1849, W. H. Nash joined with R. L. Kilburn in 
ordering from a nursery in western New York a small box of thirty- 
six fruit trees, which, packed in moss, well survived the journey 
around the Horn, arriving and being planted in Napa Valley in the 
spring of 1850. The shipment included Rhode Island Greening, 
Roxbury Russet, VVinesap, Red Romanite, Esopus Spitzenburg 
apples; Bartlett and Seckel pears. Black Tartarian and Napoleon 
Bigarreau cherries. 

Before this introduction of grafted fruit trees, and, indeed, for 
several years afterwards, there were many shipments of fruit-tree 
seeds from the eastern States to California. Mr. Barnett planted 
Kentucky seed as early as 1847 in Napa county. T. K. Stewart 
brought to California with him, in 1848, about two hundred pounds 
of vegetable and fruit seeds, the latter including peach, pear and 
apple, all of which were planted on the American River, within the 
present limits of Sacramento, in the spring of 1849. At the same 
time he planted figs and olives, and", in 1851, seeds of oranges. From 
all these he secured bearing trees. 

But these early efforts at improvement of California fruits were 
but faint forerunners of the zeal and enterprise which followed the 
great invasion by gold seekers. As soon as the first thought — to 
get gold directly from the soil — would admit the second — to get it 
indirectly, by agricultural and horticultural arts — there came a 
demand for something better than the wild fruits of the mountains, 
better and more abundant than the fruits from the mission orchards. 
At first everything in the line of fruit-tree seed which could be 
obtained was planted. Thus the immediate vicinity of the mines 
soon began to show growing fruit trees. But seedlings of any kind 
would not satisfy the planters, and effort was put forth in every 
direction after grafted trees of the best varieties. Oregon had a 
few years the start of California as an inviting field for immigration, 
and the advantage also of winning the attention of those who went 

50 



KAkLV GARDENS OF DWARF TREES 51 

out, not as gold seekers, but as agricultural producers. Oregon 
had grafted trees in bearing, and nursery stock as well, about the 
time the demand sprang up for it in California. Its introduction 
was then, however, of very recent date. Up to 1847 the cultivated 
fruit of Oregon consisted of seedlings introduced by the Hudson 
Bay Company, in 1824, and by early settlers from the Mississippi 
•Valley. In that year occurred the first considerable, if not the very 
first, introduction of grafted fruit upon the Pacific coast. The 
story of that venture has been so often wrongly told that it is well 
to record its interesting incidents in the words of one quite near to 
the event, if not acutally participating in it. Seth Lewelling, of 
Milwaukee, Oregon, writes : 

la 1847 my brother, Henderson Lewelling, crossed the plains from Henry 
county, lovva, to Oregon, bringing with him a pretty general variety of grafted 
fruits; He fitted up a wagon for the purpose, selected small plants, and planted 
them in soil in the boxes and watered them to keep them alive. He told me that 
in some places he had to carry water a mile up the mountains to save his trees. 
When he arrived in Oregon, late in the fall, he had something over three hundred 
plants alive. The same tall William Meek arrived in Oregon with a few varieties 
of fruit trees. He and my brother put their stock together, and commenced the 
first nursery of grafted fruits on the Pacific coast. It was situated five miles 
south of Portland, jui>t below Milwaukee, on the east bank of the Willamette 
river. For want of seedling stock, they could not increase their nursery much 
until, in 1850, my brother John and 1 crossed the plains, bringing with us some 
apple seed, which we planted that winter. We also found a gentleman named 
Pugh, in Washington county Oregon, who had planted some apple seed in the 
sprmg of 1850. which had grown well, and we bought his stock. During the 
winter of 1850-51 we put in about twenty thousand grafts. In March, 1851, 1 
went to Sacramento, taking with me a box of grafts of apple, pear, peach, plum 
and cherry, and sold them in Sacramento. 1 believe I have the honor of being 
the first to distribute grafted fruit in California. 

Other Early Introductions. — The introduction of grafted trees, 
for sale by Air. Lewelling in the spring of 1851, was quickly followed 
by other commercial importations, and by shipments by planters 
for their own use, so that the plantings of 1851-52 were quite large. 
Still there was great doubt as to the success of the trees. The late 
G. G. Briggs, after his great melon profits of 1851, went back to 
New York State for his family, and, returning to California, brought 
with him, as he says, ''with no idea that they would succeed, but 
as a reminder of home," fifty peach and a few apple and pear trees. 
To his surprise, the trees grew well in 1852, and the next year 
blossomed and bore some of the best peaches he ever saw. The 
pears also bore some fine fruit the same year. 

Besides the introduction of grafted trees which have been men- 
tioned, there were others in 1852, for, at a fair held in San Francisco 
in 1853, there were several kinds of apples, grown by Isaac A. 
Morgan, of Bolinas, on trees planted the previous year. Apples 
were also shown from Napa. David Spence, of Monterey, showed 
the first almonds grown in California. During the winter of 1852-53 



52 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

the distribution of grafted trees must have extended widely over 
the State. Five dollars for a small tree was frequently paid at the 
nursery of Meek and Lewelling, in Milwaukee, Oregon, and the 
trees were carried overland into the mining districts of California, 
as well as brought to San Francisco for distribution through the 
valleys. 

Fruit Gardens, not Orchards. — It is interesting to note that 
much of the pioneer effort was expended upon fruit gardens rather 
than fruit orchards. Two ideas, at least, led in this direction. One 
was the popular thought, which, however, was very early found to 
be erroneous, that frequent and copious irrigation was essential to 
the growth of fruit in this dry climate. Another was the ambition, 
which was correct, both from a horticultural and commercial point 
of view, to secure the fruit just as soon as possible, for the double 
purpose of determining what was adapted to the novel conditions, 
and to secure the magnificent prices which fruit commanded in the 
market. For these ends dwarfing stocks naturally suggested them- 
selves, and were employed to an extent which seems wonderful 
when it is remembered that now hardly a fruit tree in the State is 
worked upon a dwarfing stock. Very early, say from '52 to '58, 
at San Jose, Oakland, Stockton and Sacramento, small areas, which 
would now only be considered respectable house lots, were turned 
to great profit with dwarf pear and apple trees. The place of Mr. 
Fountain, near Oakland, was called, in 1857, "The finest orchard 
of dwarf trees in the State." It consisted of three acres set with 
one thousand six hundred apple and pear trees, all dwarf from 
root grafts, two years old, and four feet high, and most of them in 
good bearing. He started the branches from the ground, pruning 
severely, and heading in during the winter. He claimed that 
dwarfing gave him better and larger fruit, and from two to three 
years sooner than with standard trees. He did not irrigate, but 
plowed frequently, four inches deep, up to the first of June. 

But though these dwarf-tree gardens were formally declared 
"to be the fashion," and though the list of stock of one Sacramento 
nurseryman, in 1858, included ninety-five standard and eight thou- 
sand and sixty-eight dwarf pear trees for sale, the foundations of 
the greater orchards were early laid upon the basis of standard 
trees. Thus the Briggs' orchard, of one thousand acres, on the 
moist land of the Yuba, was planted with trees sixteen feet apart 
each way, and Mr. Lewelling, and other early planters on the rich 
lands of central Alameda county, adopted about the same distance. 
Quite in contrast, too. with the prevalence of dwarf trees, and 
contemporaneous with it, was the grand plan upon which the 
pioneer of pioneers. General Sutter, laid out his orchard on Hock 
Farm, on the west bank of the Feather River, eight miles from its 
junction with the Yuba, of which the following description was 
written about the time the trees were coming into bearing: 



EARLY GARDENS OF DWARF TREES 53 

Several acres were set apart for an ornamental fruit orchard, the trees and 
shrubs being so arranged as to present a unique landscape garden, nearly every 
article in which is productive of fruit. The arrangement of the fruit trees is 
peculiar, a large portion of them being set on either side of the broad avenues 
opening through the extensive grounds in various directions, imparting to the 
whole an air of picturesque beauty seldom seen. 

But neither the narrow dwarf-tree garden plan nor the broad 
landscape-garden plan has survived. Neither of them harmonized 
with the commercial idea of orcharding — large production and 
economy of cultivation, and both are now but curiosities of the 
early horticulture of California. 

Irrigation Abandoned. — The early abandonment of dwarf trees 
suggests also the early abandonment of irrigation in the valleys of 
Northern California — as early as 1856. Facilities which had been 
secured for irrigation of orchards were allowed to go unused, 
because it w^as thought better not to use them. One case is reported 
in Napa county where means to furnish the orchard with thirty 
thousand gallons of water per day were allowed to lie idle. The 
substitution of cultivation for water, of course, attended this reform. 
The announcement of a practice, in 1856, "to plow deep, dig wide 
and deep holes for planting, and work the ground from February 
to July, allowing no grass or weeds to grow among the trees," 
shows that the thorough and clean culture, for which California is 
famous, is not a recent idea in our practice. Even the abandonment 
of the plow, and almost weekly use of the cultivator, was the prac- 
tice of some growers in the San Jose district before 1860. In fact, 
the descriptions of orchard management in that day include nearly 
the whole variety of methods which now prevail. Later experience 
has, however, shown that irrigation facilities are more valuable even 
for deciduous fruits than was once thought possible. This proposi- 
tion will be discussed in the chapter on irrigation. 

Early Wisdom and Enterprise. — It is evident to anyone who 
studies the records, that California was very fortunate in numbering 
among the early settlers so many men with horticultural tastes, 
skill, and experience. The rapidity with which fruit trees were 
multiplied, and the confidence with which these early comers entered 
upon the nursery business, shows their training. Although there 
were many trees brought here from the East and from Europe, they 
constituted only a very small percentage of the plantings of the 
first few years, but the orchards, with the exception of a very small 
number of trees introduced to furnish grafting and budding stock, 
were the product of the soil. When this is borne in mind, it becomes 
all the more wonderful how so much could be done in a new 
country, in a distant part of the world, in so very short a time. It 
was an observation which was put upon record as early as 1856, 
that "some varieties of fruit are much improved by change to this 



54 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM 

State, and some are not benefited." The test seems to have been 
that if a variety was not better than at the East, it should be 
discarded. 

The First Oversupply.^-The wonderful stimulus given to the 
fruit interest by the results obtained in growth and in marketing, 
soon induced larger plantings than the demand warranted. In 
1857 it was publicly stated that "there are single farms in this State, 
containing each over half a million fruit trees in orchard and 
nursery — one person owning enough trees, when fully matured, to 
produce as much fruit, other than grapes, as will be sold this year 
throughout our State. The day is not far distant when fruit will 
be an important crop for raising and fattening swine." This was, 
to a certain extent, a statement of a croaker, for plantations con- 
tinued, rare varieties were brought from the East, the South, and 
from Europe ; the growth of some fruits continued to be very 
profitable, and the nursery business, confined to fewer hands, was 
profitable also. The idea that quality rather than size should be 
striven for, led to more discrimination in propagation and better 
treatment of trees. 

The decade from 1858 to 1868 was one of quiet in the fruit 
interest of California. Many of the too hastily and carelessly 
planted trees died from lack of proper cultivation and pruning, and 
the borer wrought sad havoc. In 1860 and 1861 there was serious 
depression. It is recorded that peaches were worth but one cent a 
pound, and many were allowed to go to waste as not worth gather- 
ing. The flood of 1862 destroyed many trees along the Sacramento 
River, and replanting was slow until prices began to improve, as 
they did soon afterward. The rapid development of the mining 
interest in Nevada, and the construction of roads across the Sierras, 
opened the way for the disposition of much fruit growth in the foot- 
hills and in the region around Sacramento. 

The imports of dried and canned fruits were large, and growers 
were exhorted to take steps to secure this trade for themselves. 
Something was done in this direction, for by 1867 the local product 
of canned fruit was equal to the demand. Drying did not advance 
so fast; for two years later there were imports of six thousand 
barrels of dried apples, wh-ile the hundreds of thousands of bushels 
of the fruit were rotting under the trees in our orchards. 

The decade under review was also notable for the first appear- 
ance of cured raisins and prunes at the State fair of 1863. The 
raisins were from the Muscat of Alexandria grape, and the report 
states that so-called raisins exhibited previous to that time were 
merely dried grapes. Dr. J. Strentzel, of Martinez, was the first 
exhibitor of Muscat raisins, and he exhibited also dried grapes of 
four varieties to show the contrast between a raisin and a dried 
grape. J. R. Nickerson, of Placer county, exhibited the dried prunes, 
which were of the German variety. 



BEGINNINGS OF FRUIT SHIPMENT 55 

Though this decade was one of uncertainty and doubt, there 
were rich lessons of experience learned, and the foundations for 
coming greatness were well laid. Many of our leading lines of 
production trace their beginnings to this period, and their later 
developments have been beyond any anticipations then cherished. 

The New Era. — Another era in California may be marked as 
beginning with the year 1869, because then the first fresh fruits 
were sent East over the newly-opened overland line. The first 
season's shipments amounted to thirty-three tons of pears, apples, 
grapes, and plums ; in 1870 seventy carloads, or about seven hun- 
dred tons, were sent. 

The Eastern shipment of fresh fruits began its new era with the 
year 1886, when the first full train load of fifteen cars of fresh fruit 
from deciduous trees went overland. Shipping train loads of 
oranges from Southern California began at an earlier date. 

During the present decade shipments of fruit and fruit products 
have increased until a very large aggregate in weight and value has 
been attained. The volume of shipments beyond State lines is 
shown by the statement on the next page compiled from the records 
of the California Development Board. 

The Fruit Interest in 1912. — The fruit interests of California 
now constitute the greatest single industry of California, and the 
fruit output of California is far greater than that of any other State 
in the Union. Notable progress has been secured in planting, in the 
growth, preparation and marketing of the product, in the contest 
with injurious insects and plant diseases, and, in fact, in all things 
which contribute to success. It is true that there are problems still 
unsolved, and there have been grievous losses to individuals who 
have proceeded upon too great expectations or have erred in location 
for various fruits. Such mishaps will be less frequent in the future. 
At present there is a disposition to proceed more cautiously and to 
profit by the lessons which have been learned, many of which will 
be mentioned in their proper places in later chapters. 

Some dimensions of the present fruit interests may be suggested 
by the following statistics showing numbers of trees and vines, 
which have been carefully compiled from reports of the assessors 
of the counties submitted to the State Board of Equalization. As 
the enumerations were made as a basis of taxation they are not 
likely to be exaggerated. Though imperfect, they are the best 
available. 



56 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 



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FRUIT INTEREST IN STATE DEVELOPMENT 57 

It is interesting' to estimate the total value of the annual products 

of California trees and vines, usinj:^ the best data and judgment 

available. The estimates arc based upon value at shipping points. 

Number and Acreage of Fruit Trees and Vines in California, 1910. 

Fruit. Bearing. Non-bearing. Total. Acreage. 

Apple 1,736,748 406,067 2,142,815 28,570 

Apricot 2,308,600 285,817 2,594,417 34,592 

Cherry 525,471 77,050 602,521 8,033 

Pear 1,301,000 198,932 1,499,932 14,999 

Peach 8,587,794 2,354.200 10,941,994 109,419 

Nectarine 58.034 5,739 63.773 637 

Plum 917,662 131,791 1,049.453 10,494 

Prune 8,147,638 851,183 8,998,821 89,988 

Quince 20,381 3,324 23,705 220 

Fig 330,364 219,511 549,875 21,995 

Olive 1.048,161 142,291 1,190,452 11,904 

Lemon 1,522,875 287,541 1,810,416 18,104 

Orange 9,370,198 1,433,023 10,803,221 108,032 

Almond 1,011,748 192,634 1.204,382 12,043 

Walnut 651.852 239,297 891,149 35.646 

Grapes, acres 263,800 82,873 346,673 

Barries, acres 12,658 2,019 14,677 



Totals 37,538,526 *6,91 1,273 44,366.346 866,026 

•Acreage of grapes arid berries omitted. 



Valuation of a Year's Fruits and Fruit Products, f. o. b. California. 

Kinds. Pounds. Selling Price per Lb. Value. 

Fresh deciduous 410,902,000 

Dried deciduous 336,558,000 

Citrus fruits 895,668,000 

Raisins 140,702,000 

Nuts 25,618,000 

Canned fruits . 180,480,000 

Olives and olive oil 

Wine 364,000,000 

Brandy 20,000,000 



• An estimate upon meager data. 
t Basis of 20 cents per gallon. 
t Basis of 60 cents per gallon. 



$0.02 


$ 8,268,040 


.06 


19.193,480 


.02 


17,913,480 


.03 


4,221,060 


.10 


2,561,800 


.05 


9,024,000 




* 2,200,000 


t .02/^ 


9,100,000 


t .08 


2,200,000 




$74,081,720 



These amounts, which are averages of several recent years, are 
of available surplus for distant shipment. They do not include the 
local consumption by two millions of fruit-loving people in Cali- 
fornia. 



58 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



INFLUENCE UE THE FRUn INDUSTRIES UPON 
CALIFORNIA DEVELOPMENT 

Enlistment in California fruit growing has proved exceedingly 
satisfactory to tens of thousands of people in the various ways 
along which they have approached it. The fruit districts are full 
of cottage homes sheltering families of those who have begun with 
small investments and have made a good livelihood, and often con- 
siderably more, from a few acres of fruits grown largely without 
expenditure for hired labor. The study of the needs of the tree or 
vine and ministering to them by personal effort has brought new 
health and new incentive to the worn and weary who have taken 
up outdoor life and activity in California fruit growing with a wise 
choice of location, land and fruits, for obviously in all investments 
one must be wise as well as willing. 

In large operations hundreds have notably succeeded by pur- 
chasing good land in large tracts at low rates and making ample 
investment for its development and improvement. Some of the 
most delightful of our towns and villages have arisen as a direct 
result of such employment of capital. Well established communi- 
ties, well churched and schooled, well provided for in local trade 
and transportation and widely known citizens, have followed in- 
vestment money and devoted effort in colony enterprises. 

Hundreds, also, have purchased large tracts of wild land and 
have developed fine estates for their own personal gratification, 
with thriving orchards of all kinds of fruits, rich pastures tenanted 
with improved livestock, parks, gardens and buildings comparable 
with the estates of the European nobility, except that California 
conditions favor freedom and variety in outdoor effort unknown in 
Europe, and command proportional interest and enthusiasm. 
Estates for winter residences in California are exceptionally desir- 
able, not only because of natural advantages and greater possibili- 
ties of development, but because of the advanced standing of the 
State financially and socially. 

All of these lines of effort, then — home-making in a small way, 
colony enterprise and private estate development — have yielded on 
the whole great satisfaction and success. Fruit growing has been 
the central idea in nearly all of them, but it is obvious that activity 
in any productive line begets opportunity for other lines, and so all 
branches of agriculture have advanced and the diversification is 
highly desirable. Opportunities in manufacture, trade and profes- 
sional effort of all kinds have been quickly seized and developed 
with much originality and success. Fruit growing has created them 
all and has in turn been advanced by all, for every accumulation 
of capital promotes it. Successful toilers in all lines become 



THE FRUIT OUTLOOK 59 

planters. The ancestral delight of the race, to sit beneath one's own 
vine or fig tree, is nowhere more enthusiastically manifested than 
in California, and nowhere else does the emotion of comfort in 
ownership yield such profound and protracted satisfaction. 



THE OUTLOOK OF THE INDUSTRY 

The outlook for California fruits and fruit products involves 
considerations of much economic interest. Though the volume is 
already large and there may be experienced now and then tem- 
porary dullness or depression in this line or that, the business is 
on the whole brisk and profitable. There is such a wide range in 
the fruits grown and the products made from them, and such 
changes in local conditions in the many purchasing States and 
foreign countries with which Californians deal, that there must be 
some fluctuations in the values of some of the supplies oft'ered in 
distant market. The result is that first one fruit and then another 
one seems to be more or less profitable. The fact, however, that 
all are increasing in volume and the total traffic brings each year 
more money to the State, is a demonstration of the standing of the 
collective output. Each year new markets are found, both at home 
and abroad, and the capacity of old centers of distribution is shown 
to be greater than anticipated. There is every reason to expect that 
the products can be profitably multiplied. There have been secured, 
largely through co-operative efforts of growers, so many improve- 
ments in handling and transportation that distant shipment has 
become more safe and profitable and distribution far wider. It is 
reasonable to believe that further improvement in movement and 
reduction of cost will be realized and the per capita consumption 
in the populous parts of our own country proportionally advanced. 
In spite of all that wintry States can do for local supplies, Cali- 
fornia can find open markets before and after the short ripening 
season of the Eastern States for her early and late fruits, and can 
use her own midseason fruits in the drying and canning industries, 
though it is a fact that in the height of the Eastern fruit season a 
considerable quantity of California fruit will command the highest 
prices because of its exceptional size, beauty and keeping qualities. 
The citrus fruits, so long as they are allowed to remain under the 
favoring tariff' which now exists, will continue to supply an Amer- 
ican product of exceptional quality and freshness, while prunes, 
nuts, raisins and wines will not only do this, but will push forward 
into the trade of Europe, as they are now beginning to do in a most 
vigorous manner. A very significant report was made by one of the 
United States Consuls in France recently that out canned and dried 
fruits were appearing on the shelves of all the provision shops of 



60 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the smaller French towns and were being freely sold without reduc- 
ing the prices of the locally grown fruit. Practically the same 
thing could be said of points in Germany and other European 
countries. The fact is that European countries can not grow fruit 
enough to supply their own people and fruit has been largely a 
luxury. California dried fruits are being welcomed by the great 
middle classes and are likely to become a staple of their diet. This 
explains the ultimate disposition of the large amounts now going 
direct from California to Europe. 

California's exports of high-class food supplies to European 
countries are likely to reach values like those of the wheat ana 
barley which we are now sending to that part of the world. The 
development of adjacent territory on the American continent and 
other Pacific countries may shape the future of California as a fruit 
producing State in a way which can at present only be dreamed 
about. It should be remembered that California has a unique char- 
acter from a horticultural point of view. Not only does the State 
have a monopoly of semi-tropical conditions of the United States 
(excepting small parts of the Gulf States and Arizona), but Cali- 
fornia has command of the whole of northwest America and the 
whole of northeast Asia, not only in the supply of semi-tropical 
fruits, but in early ripening of hardy fruits as well. 

California does not grow tropical fruits, as has already been 
conceded in Chapter I. They must come from the islands and the 
tropical south coast countries. Semi-tropical fruits are, however, 
vastly more important in commerce than tropical, and a region 
which successfully combines northern orchard fruits with the whole 
semi-tropical class commands the fruit trade of all accessible popu- 
lous regions which have limited fruit capabilities. There are now 
four such regions with the kind of population which makes for 
industrial advancement — Southern Europe, South Africa, parts of 
Australia and California. As already shown, we are competing 
successfully with South Europe in the capacious markets of North 
Europe. South Africa and Australia are unfortunate in lying in 
the southern hemisphere, which is mostly ocean wastes, and they 
are handicapped by tropic crossing in their northern shipments, 
although the fact of opposite seasons may help them, and also us, 
in avoiding competition of trade which both desire. California will 
soon be less than half as far by sea from European and Atlantic 
coast ports as at present, but California in the future will have less 
occasion for such distant recourses. Prophets, far-seeing in world 
courses, declare that the Pacific ocean is to be the arena for com- 
merce greater than the world has yet seen, and the Pacific coast 
countries are to contain the greater part of the world's population. 
This greatest quartosphere with its superlative opportunities and 
activities will have California as its treasure house of fruits and 



THE FRUIT OUTLOOK 61 

fruit products. During the long- winter the citrus fruits will afford 
tonic and refreshment, and before hardy fruits bloom in northern 
climes the same fruits will appear from the early ripening districts 
of California. In this traffic California will not only be practically 
without a competitor, but, sitting beside the sea, there will also be 
every advantage of water transportation and the sustaining ocean 
temperatures of the fruits in transit. California dried and canned 
fruits will render acceptable diet even through the most Arctic 
stretches along which development may advance in North America 
and North Asia, while a succession of fresh fruits will flow to all 
Pacific ports throughout the year. California, too, will be the winter 
residence for all the North Pacific millionaires and the haven of rest 
and recuperation for all who are worn by Arctic cold or tropic heat 
throughout the great circle of the Pacific ocean. Here the arts will 
flourish, education attain its highest achievements and culture pre- 
vail. Then fruit growing both as a commercial enterprise and as a 
home delight will attain value, volume and perfection, of which 
present achievements are but a faint foreshadowing. 



PART TWO : CULTURAL 
CHAPTER VII 

CLEARING LAND FOR FRUIT 

The greater part of the orchard and vineyard area of this State 
was naturally almost clear for planting. The removal of large trees, 
which paid the cost of the work in firewood, or the grubbing out of 
willows on some especially rich bottom land, was about the extent 
of clearing which our earlier planters had to undertake, and many 
of them perhaps never had to lift an axe. Still there has always 
been some clearing done, here and there, even since the earliest 
days, especially upon hill lands, the peculiar value of which for 
some fruits is generally recognized. 

The lands which need clearing are in the main foothill slopes 
of the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada. In the south there is 
besides, sometimes, the debris of the desert flora to clear away when 
water is secured and the rich wilderness is subdued. This work is 
however, so easily accomplished that it hardly rises to the dignity 
of "clearing," as understood by the Eastern mind. 

It is not possible in this connection to enumerate all of the great 
variety of shrubs and trees which the settler lays low in his clear- 
ing. The grand trees which figure most largely in lumbering oper- 
ations are not met with as a rule in foothill clearings. The trees 
which the settler encounters are rather the degraded valley growths, 
which, though assuming grand proportions in the valle3^s, become 
"scrubs" amid the harsher environment of the hillsides. This is 
notably true of the oaks and of some other trees. 

Chamisal and Chaparral. — Of true shrubs to be removed, it will 
only be possible to name a few of the most abundant. The common 
manzanita {Arctostaphylos manzanita) occurs on dry ridges every- 
where, both on the coast and at great elevations, sometimes only 
growing a few inches from the ground, sometimes rising eight or 
ten feet. Next to this, perhaps, the two terms which the land clearer 
has most to use are "chaparral" and "chamisal." To distinguish 
between them it may be said, however, that the term chamisal 
properly applies to the shrub Adcnostoma fascicidatum var. ohtusi- 
folium, which is abundant on dry soils in the Coast Ranges and more 
rarely in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, often covering extensive 
areas with dense and almost impenetrable growth, producing an 
efifect on the landscape like that of the heaths of the Old World. 
Another species. A. sparsifolium, with narrow, scattered leaves, is 
sometimes abundant on the mountains east of San Diego. 

62 



METHODS OF LAND CLEARING 63 

By chaparral is generally meant shrubs of several species of 
Ceanothus, forming dense thickets and giving its name to certain 
soils on which it most abounds, both in the Sierra foothills and 
the hillsides of the Coast Range, where it is known as California 
lilac. The genus includes the "flat brushes," as they are called, 
from their trailing on the ground, or low, horizontal shoots. 

Other Small Growths. — Shrubs of frequent occurrence also are 
the poison oak (Rhus divcrsiloha), chiefly on the north sides of hills 
in all parts of the State, but most abundant in the Coast Ranges, 
and other species of Rhus which are not poisonous ; the hazel nut 
(Corylus rostrata), which has been mentioned in the chapter on wild 
fruits ; the buckthorns, several species of rhamvius, well distributed on 
the hillsides and mountains of the State. 

In some parts of the State there are also large areas of sage- 
brush or wormwood made up of several species of Artemisia, sage 
or chia, two species of Salvia, and the famous white and black sages 
of the bee-keepers, which are species of Andibcrtia, occurring 
chiefly on the mountains of Southern California. Add to these the 
spireas, the azaleas, the rhododendrons, the sweet-scented shrubs 
(Calycanthiis), etc., and include nearly all the wild fruit trees, 
bushes and vines mentioned in a previous chapter, and one will 
gain the idea that though California is widely considered a bare 
State, the land clearer has a host of plants confronting him and 
disputing his right to the soil. 

Cost of Clearing. — The cost of clearing on the foothill slopes 
of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges is too variable to admit 
of estimates except such as may be made on the spot by experi- 
enced persons. The cost varies, of course, according to the density 
of the growth of trees and underbrush, and the rate of wages to 
be paid. Though in some cases higher cost is reached, probably 
as a rule the expense of clearing will be from $5.00 to $30.00 per 
acre, less whatever the firewood might be worth. In exceptional 
cases, where there is a large growth and a good wood market near 
by, the wood may pay the expense or more ; even the roots of 
chaparral sometimes sell in our cities at $3.00 or $4.00 per cord. 
It sometimes happens that charcoal can be produced to advantage ; 
in fact, there are now orchards upon land which was secured in 
the first instance for the charcoal to be made upon it. Usually. 
however, the clearing is an item of expense and must be reduced 
as much as possible by working in the most economical and ef- 
fective way. 

Though in most cases of clearing by the actual settler himself 
the problem is merely one of muscle and persistence, some few 
hints may be given from the experience of others which may be 
useful. Spare time during the summer and fall can often be used 



64 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

to advantage with a sharp axe in trimming up the smaller trees, 
which are large enough to yield fencing material, and getting out 
posts from the redwoods and oaks, and rails and pickets from the 
pines. By thus using the waste material the settler can often get 
out enough fencing material to inclose his land and thus save 
considerable expense. Brush, too, which can not be made use of, 
can be lopped off — in short, all the sharp axe work can be done in 
a dry time. The actual clearing, however, should be done in 
Avinter, when the ground is wet and soft, and digging is easy or 
"snaking out" is possible. 

Partial and Thorough Clearings. — Orchards are planted on both 
partially and thoroughly cleared land. By the former practice 
clearing enough is done to give space for the tree holes, the debris 
is burned up, and the trees planted. In this kind of work the 
stumps are left to be taken out at a convenient season, the object 
being to get fruit trees to growing as soon as possible. Where 
one is working with little more than his own muscle, and has no 
capital, this sort of planting is better, perhaps, than not planting 
at all, but it must be borne in mind that all subsequent work will 
be done at a great disadvantage, and as cultivation is likely to be 
very imperfect, it would be a question whether in the end anything 
would be gained by such a plan. The encumbered character of 
the ground will, of course, prevent the use of the horse in cultiva- 
tion until most of the stumps are removed. Aside from this 
decaying stumps and roots in the soil often kill the young trees ; 
especially is this the case with old oak stumps. 

Clearing land for orchard or vineyard is a very different thing 
from clearing for pasture, as is done in the redwood region of the 
northwest Coast Ranges of the State, where the stumps are un- 
touched ; the trees not taken by the lumberman are girdled and 
left a prey to decay and storms, and the brush slashed and burned 
every few years to prevent it from completely taking posession 
of the land. Clearing for fruit should be thorough, everything 
which will interfere with good cultivation removed; roots grubbed 
so that as little shooting up as possible is secured ; the ground 
evened up to obviate standing water, and, where needed, arrange- 
ments made for irrigation and drainage, as will be considered later. 

Removal of Trees. — The first operation in clearing will be the 
removal of the trees. This can be partly done in the dry season 
if one has unemployed time. In such case the tree is felled and 
worked up into fire-wood and the stump left for subsequent treat- 
ment when the ground is moist. Unless there is idle time to 
employ, the whole work can, however, be better done in the winter, 
for then the top of the tree may be made to help pull out its own 
roots. This is done sometimes by digging out the soil and cutting 



REMOVING SHRUBS AND BRUSH 65 

off the main lateral roots below the depth to which the plow will 
reach. By thus reducing its anchorage the tree will topple over, 
or may be pulled over with a team and tackle, and it will usually 
lift out its stump quite effectively. 

A Steam Puller. — An arrangement for tearing out trees without 
digging has been used to some extent in Santa Cruz county, which 
is said to handle redwood trees up to four feet in diameter success- 
fully. It consists of a portable engine and a "puller," which is a 
windlass operated by steam, from which a wire cable is carried to 
the tree which is to be pulled down. A strong chain is put around 
the tree at a distance above the ground proportioned to its diam- 
eter in such a way as to give necessary leverage. The immensely 
strong hook at the end of the cable is attached to this chain and 
the cable is slowly wound upon the reel. The coil begins to grow 
taut, a dull creak and strain are heard as the roots begin to be 
torn from the earth. Two chains are used, a second tree being 
prepared while the first is falling, that no time may be lost. The 
cable is detached from the falling tree, and a horse draws it from 
amid the debris of fallen foliage to the next victim. The extraction 
of roots by this method of pulling is said to be very complete, and 
the earth is loosened to a considerable depth. 

Powerful traction engines, manufactured for hauling combined 
harvesters and steam plows, have also been very successfully used 
for the removal of large trees in land clearing. 

Horse-Power Stump Pullers. — The use of horse-power devices 
for tree felling and stump extraction has increased considerably 
of late. The one which has achieved good results is a local invention 
called a "California Stump Puller." It is simply a specially designed 
capstan worked by one horse, with a wire cable five-eighths of an inch 
in diameter, an improved snatch block, chains, and a drafthook to 
unite the cable with the chains. Power is applied to the capstan 
with a sweep. It is calculated that with this device, properly 
adjusted, one horse is enabled to produce an effect equal to the 
capacity of 60 horses without it, and that a 1,200-pound horse which 
can move a dead weight of one and a half tons for a short distance 
can move a dead weight of 90 tons with the devices employed in 
the machine. It is so rapidly adjustable that on one trial in Napa 
county eighteen stumps were pulled in eighteen minutes, long roots 
coming clear out of the ground with each stump. 

The Use of Powder. — Another means for the removal both of 
stumps and of growing trees which has come into quite wide use 
during the last few years, is high explosives, which have vastl}'- 
cheapened the clearing of lands, where either large trees or stumps 
have to be removed. Full instructions for the use of powder are 
furnished by the agents in San Francisco, and they often send an 



66 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW TO OROW TllF.M 

expert to start the work and give instruction if there is much to be 
done. It has been estimated that the cost of handHng trees and 
stumps with explosives is less than one-fifth that by hand grubbing, 
and the ratio of saving increases as the trees are larger, as powder 
is cheaper than muscle. 

Removing Shrubs and Brush. — In the case of removing shrubs 
of a somewhat tall growth, the top is made to help out the roots. 
This is done either with a good strong rope or a chain. To do this 
lequires two men and a pair of horses, and two chains, each ten or 
twelve feet long. A chain should be placed around the bush some 
distance above the ground, to give leverage. If the bush is not 
removed at the first pull, start the horses in the opposite direction. 
While the driver is unfastening the chain from the chaparral, the 
second man can place the other chain around another bush, and the 
one who gets through his work first should at once assist the other. 
In this way the horses are kept in constant employment, and neither 
of the men need lose a moment's time. This work should be done 
when the ground is thoroughly wet. 

Where manzanita grows somewhat upright, as it does on the 
hills north of the bay, the same methods of extraction can be 
employed with it, first slashing off enough to allow adjusting the 
rope or chain a few feet above the ground. Where it grows lower, 
as, for' example, on the hills of Santa Clara, the manzanita brush 
is gone over with a roller so as to break it down, and then the land 
is burned over. The roller should be of the ordinary farm pattern, 
but rigged with a tiller (header fashion) so that the horses can 
push the roller and walk over the flattened brush. The only object 
of the rolling is to smash the brush down so that it will burn readily. 
When the brush is got rid of in this way, the plow is trusted to 
get rid of the roots. The plow should be of the pattern known as 
"prairie breaker," without coulter. Horses should be shod with a 
plate of sheet iron between the shoe and hoof to prevent snagging, 
and not less than four of them used. Much of the Santa Clara 
county vine belt was cleared in that way. Of course this method 
only answers for the lighter-rooted growths ; tough-rooted chapar- 
ral, oak, holly, etc., must be grubbed out, unless the roots are snaked 
out by the tops, as has been described. 

Marketable Products of Clearing. — Whether any money can be 
made from the results of clearing depends altogether upon local 
markets for wood and charcoal, and the cost of transportation to 
them. From clearings near large towns enough can be sometimes 
had to pay for the work and hauling, and along railways wood can 
often be shipped with profit. This can only be learned by local 
inquiries. 

Charcoal Burning. — Charcoal can usually be sold to advantage, 



PREPARING LAND FOR FRUIT 67 

and wood can sometimes be profitably disposed of in this way when 
it cannot be marketed for fuel. A considerable acreage of unprofit- 
able fruit trees has been disposed of in this way recently. Charcoal 
is made from most kinds of wood, and sometimes stumps and large 
roots are charred. A simjile process of charcoal burning is given 
by an experienced burner, as follows: 

To Inirn a pit of charcoal, the prime necessity is to perform the process 
of combustion with the least possible contact with air. Select a suitable 
place not too far from the dwelling, because the operation must be watched 
from time to time by night as well as by daj'. It is not necessary to dig much 
of a "pit" in the ground. Choose hard limbs of pine, spruce or whatever 
wood is most available of that kind. Dry, dead limbs, if not decayed, take 
for choice. Set them up wigwam fashion, close together, fitting them as 
well as they will allow, the apex forming the chimney. Be careful to keep 
that chimney free, because the fire should be there applied to brisk "kindling" 
as far down as possible. Build round and round, taking the precaution to 
lay three or four straight pieces, three or four inches in diameter, along the 
ground from the outside to the center. These may have to be withdrawn 
to promote the draught. 

The wood all being in place it is now required to cover it thoroughly. 
In the absence of turf or sods, it must be thatched with leafy green boughs, 
or anything that will prevent the earth or dirt that is now heaped on from 
running through. Pack this soil covering carefully, exclude air as far as 
possible, except when the port-holes referred to near the ground are needed. 
The direction of the wind will determine which ones are to be opened. 
When the fire — after a few hours, more or less, according to the materials — 
has got a good hold, close also the chimney. Visit the pit regularly night 
and da)-; lessen or increase the draught as may seem needed; and in a week 
or ten days the two or three cords of wood sliould be turned into good hard 
coal. When uncovered, water or dirt should be thrown upon coal that is 
too lively when spread out on the ground. 

Cutting to Kill Brush. — Just when to cut to kill depends upon 
the character of the growth and of the season. One conclusion 
seems to be that with deciduous growths the best time to cut is 
when they have just made their most vigorous growth, and this is 
in the summer — but the month to be chosen for the work will 
depend upon the location, though .\ugust is generally selected as 
the best time. 

In the case of evergreens, the cutting should be just before the 
coldest weather, in which they are the nearest dormant. Ever- 
greens, however, dififer much in tenacity of life, for while most 
kinds are easily killed, the California redwood will endure almost 
any abuse w-ith the axe or fire and still spring up repeatedly and 
persistently for years. 

The Use of Sheep on Sprouts. — On sprouting brush, there is. 
perhaps, no cheaper or more efifective means of repression than 
sheep and goats. They are used after the top growth is cleared 
away instead of grubbini^-. if one can wait, for by their persistent 
cutting down of growth, man}- small stumps and roots will decay 
enough in a year or two to be plowed out with a strong team and 
plow. 



68 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Burning of the Debris. — However the trees and underbrush may 
be wrenched from the soil, fire is the final cleaner. Where trees 
are to be worked up into fire-wood, it should be done as soon as 
they are felled, for the work is much less than after they become 
dry and hard. If it is not designed to break the land the first 
winter, the wood is left to season and it becomes lighter and easier 
to handle. The brush and roots, if no use is to be made of them, 
can be left to lie on the clearing to dry out during the following 
summer, and after the first rains of the following fall the whole 
area can be burned over. Such stumps as do not burn with the 
brush must be gathered in piles and re-fired. Burning before the 
first rain should not be attempted, unless it be in exceptional situa- 
tions, because of the danger of communicating fire to the surround- 
ing country, which is a standing danger in our dry climate. Under 
the present law it becomes necessary to secure permission from the 
State Forester at Sacramento before starting field fires in the dry sea- 
son. After the rain, clean up the ground perfectly. 

First Crop on a Clearing. — -It is the opinion of some clearers 
in the redwood region that the soil is not fit for fruit trees the first 
year after the original growth is removed, and they grow a field 
crop the first year. They claim that peas are the best corrective of 
"redwood poisoning," and fortunately in the upper redwood district 
they have a climate well suited to the pea. Whether their theory 
is right or not, their practice is of advantage, because they get a 
better cultivation and aeration of the soil, and kill out much of the 
sprouting from the old roots, which is usually quite persistent in 
the moister parts of the State. Usually the tree and vine planter is 
in such haste to realize from his labor that he does not allow the 
first year to go for any side issue. 

Surface Leveling and Draining. — There is often occasion to 
clear the land of stone and rocks. The latter should be blasted out 
of the way so that the land may be clear for the plow' and cultivator. 
Once in a while one will come upon a stone wall inclosing an 
orchard in this State, as trim and true a wall as the most thrifty 
New England farmer can boast, but walls are not common. Our 
valley orchard lands are, as a rule, naturally as free from stone as 
they are from underbrush, but on the hills it is different. Probably 
the best way to dispose of much of the stone is to dig trenches in 
the natural water runs, put in stone, cover with small brush, 
and then with soil deep enough so the plow will not reach the 
brush. This disposes of the stone for all time, and at the same time 
helps to drain the soil. Concerning other treatment of the land 
after the rubbish is removed, P. W. Butler writes as follows: 

When water runs are wide, lateral ditches should be cut extending 
entirely through the moist areas. If during the rainy season a run is likely 



PRRPAUTNC, T.AND FOR FRUIT 69 

lo have more water than can be conveyed properly througli a covered trench, 
it should be left open and graded so that a team can cross it, and for fifteen 
feet on each side sow to red-top. In this v^ray the land can be utilized that 
would be worthless for trees, and the red-top, that can be grown at a profit, 
will take the place of unsightly weeds, that would otherwise grow at the 
point that cannot be cultivated. 

To distribute the work more evenly through the first year buildings can 
be erected, a well dug, and the trenching done in the dry season, while all 
the grubbing, leveling, plowing and planting must be done the following 
season, as soon as the ground is sufficiently moistened. All depressions 
where water would stand should be filled, and all flat places should be 
graded until water will readily flow ofi, and not be retained so near the 
surface of the ground as to cause it to become soured. This leveling can be 
best done by one man and a pair of horses. Plow the adjacent elevated 
land and scrape into the places to be filled. The land is now ready for 
plowing, and should be done thoroughlj^ subsoiling to as great a depth as 
the removal of the stumps will allow. It is now well to go over the ground 
again with the scraper and level all the most elevated points so they can be 
readily reached by water in irrigating. Then cross-plow as deeply as possi- 
ble without again subsoiling, harrow and drag, and the ground will be ready 
to plant. 

Mr, Butler writes with reference to the foothills of the Sierra 
Nevada, where irrigation must be practised. Where irrigation is 
not used, leveling, or rather grading, may be unnecessary, but it is 
often quite desirable that there may be no depressions to retain 
surplus water. The life of the trees and ease of cultivation may 
demand this unless the soil should be light and deep enough to 
allow free drainage. 



CHAPTER VIII 

NURSERY OPERATIONS 

California nursery stock is unrivaled in growth, health and 
vigor. This is the verdict of all the visiting horticulturists, and has 
been formally declared by the victories of California tree growers 
at the World's Fairs held in this country, where the highest 
premiums were awarded to Californians in nearly all classes in 
which they exhibited since 1885. 

The quality of the trees which can be purchased at our nurseries, 
and the very reasonable rates at which they are sold, make it little 
worth while for the orchard planter to try to grow his own trees. 
In fact, the investment called for to purchase a good assortment 
of well-grown trees will be one of the best which the orchard 
planter can make. The professional grower, if he is honest and 
enterprising, can give the purchaser the advantage of his experi- 
ence and skill in the choice of stocks suited to his soil, varieties 
of fruit adapted to his situation, and be of assistance to him in 
other ways connected with his enterprise ; and such helps to an 
inexperienced planter or to a newcomer are very valuable. There 
may be, however, some reader who is distant from established nur- 
series, or possessed of limited means, who may like to use his 
spare time in -growing his own trees, and to such suggestions are 
offered. There will, howe^■er, be very much which can be learned 
only by actual experience. 

In the selection of a location for a commercial nursery there are 
matters involved which it is not proposed to discuss. Attention 
will be paid rather to matters connected with what may be called 
a farm nursery. The first point will be the selection of a small 
piece of ground, which offers proper soil, exposure, and, in some 
parts of the State, facilities for irrigation. 

Proper Soil for Nursery. — The soil should be a mellow loam, 
easy of cultivation and not disposed to crust and crack. In all 
respects what one would choose as a rich, kind garden soil will 
answer well for the nursery. The soil should be moist, but thor- 
oughly drained, either naturally or artificially, for time and labor 
will be largely wasted on a water-logged soil. In this respect a 
soil which might yield fair crops of some shallow-rooted vege- 
tables would not always be suitable for young trees, which, to do 
well, must have favorable conditions to send the roots to consider- 
able depth. Good spots are often found in the rich loam along the 
banks of creeks, as in such situations one finds generally a deep 

70 



PRKPARATION OF NL'RSERV CRf^UN'l) /\ 

alluvium, well drained by the creek. 15ut such situations, if liable 
to overflow, should be rejected because standing water is not good 
for trees, and because the soil will be apt to be soaked with water 
and inaccessible just at the time when the trees should be lifted for 
transplanting to orchard. 

It is not always possible to find an ideal nursery spot on every 
ranch, but still trees may be well grown on less favorable places 
if attention is given to correcting natural defects. For example, 
if the soil be naturally heavy, it may be improved somewhat by 
repeated plowing and cultivation, during the year before starting 
the trees. It it be an adobe, its mechanical condition may be 
greatly improved by the application of a top dressing of lime at the 
rate of six hundred to one thousand pounds of lime to the acre. 
For this purpose "lime waste," which contains both lime and wood 
ashes, can be had cheaply at the kilns. Old plaster which may 
have been left from house repairs is excellent. Even builders' 
lime would not be very expensive, for but little would be required 
for so small a plot of land as a farm nursery would need to cover. 
The lime will increase the amount of plant food in a heavy soil as 
well as render it more friable. Another way in which a small area 
of heavy soil may be improved is by the addition of sand. A few 
loads of sand, if it can be had near by, will remove the tendency 
to crack, and will act as mulch to prevent evaporation of moisture. 
If the soil be very loose and subject to too rapid drying out, the 
remedy will be moderate irrigation during the summer, but it 
should cease early enough to allow the young trees to ripen their 
wood before the frosts of autumn. ]\Iulches of various light, fine 
materials, rotted straw and the like, may be used to advantage 
among the young seedlings in preventing drying out of the soil, 
if the plot is to be hand-worked, but such materials are apt to be 
in the way of neat, thorough work with the horse. A mulch of 
sand, if available, is not open to this objection. 

In choosing soil for a nursery, a piece of land which has been 
in cultivation for garden or field crops is to be preferred over a 
newly-cleared piece. It is often the case that soil from which old 
stumps or shoots have recently been removed has become soured 
from the process of decay in the dead wood. Although the de- 
posits of humus from decay of woody fiber tends to enrich the soil, 
afterwards certain acids are formed if the land lies without culti- 
vation. These are not favorable to the growth of young roots, 
and a crop to which as much time is given as a crop of young trees, 
should not be placed upon it. This evil quality in the soil is 
removed by cultivation and aeration, or may be corrected by the 
application of lime. This state of soil is most complained of in 
connection with old stumps and roots of oak trees. 



72 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Situation and Exposure. — Warmth in the soil is necessary to a 
good growth, and a good year's growth is essential to the pro- 
duction of a satisfactory tree. Drainage contributes notably to 
the warmth of the soil. Exposure is also of importance. Plenty 
of sunshine and protection from cold winds are to be secured. 
Sometimes a little elevation is desirable. It would be a serious 
mistake to seek moist, low land if the piece lies at the bottom of a 
little valley or depression where the cold air settles during the night 
and frosts are frequent. In such cases choose higher ground. Of 
course, in broad, open valleys there is not this objection, for such 
seasonable frosts as may be expected there are not injurious to 
deciduous nursery stock. The greatest nurseries in the State are 
in the open valleys, not on the lowest ground, however, in all cases, 
but on what would be called good, rich valley land. There are, 
however, situations in the thermal belts in which the temperature 
does not fall low enough to check growth of deciduous trees and 
cause the leaves to drop. In such cases it has been found desirable 
to select lower and colder ground for the nursery of deciduous trees. 

Preparation for Nursery Ground. — The best preparation for 
nursery ground is the growth, the previous season, of a cultivated or 
hoed crop. This will secure frequent working of the soil, thorough 
pulverization of the clods, etc. The produce of the hoed crop should 
thus pay the cost of putting the land in good condition, at least. 
Where the retention of moisture is an object, as it really is in some 
parts of the State where the annual rainfall is sometimes small and 
no facilities for irrigation provided, it will perhaps pay better in the 
end to keep the land in bare fallow during the previous summer ; 
but there must be frequent and thorough cultivation, keeping the 
surface always mellow, or more moisture will be lost by evaporation 
than a hoed crop would require for its growth. Properly cultivated 
fallow soil will have a moisture within a few inches of the surface, 
while unworked soil adjoining will be baked hard and dry to a 
depth of several feet. During the winter immediately preceding 
planting, the green stuff should be allowed to grow for a time, but 
should be plowed under before it gets high enough to interfere with 
perfect turning of smooth furrows. The decay of this green crop 
is of advantage to the soil. Another plowing in the spring, and a 
thorough harrowing, will leave the ground in good condition to 
receive the pits or root grafts, as the case may be. In this plowing 
for nursery there should be deep work done and subsoiling, as will 
be more fully set forth under the head of preparing land for orchard, 
to which the reader is referred. 

Growth of Seedlings for the Nursery, — The two chief ways of 
producing fruit trees are, first, from seedlings grown on the spot; 



GROWING SEEDLINGS FROM PITS 73 

second, from buds and root grafts upon stock imported from the 
East or from abroad. First, as to the growth of seedlings : 

It is usual to take seeds from sources where they can be collected 
with the least trouble. Apple seeds are washed out from the pomace 
of the cider press ; apples and pears from the coring and peelings 
of canneries and drying establishments ; pits of the stone fruits are 
derived from the same source. Supplies can usually be purchased 
from such establishments at a moderate cost. The trouble is that 
from such supplies one is apt to get seeds and pits from all varieties, 
possessing different degrees of health and vigor. There is just as 
much to be gained from selecting the seed from which to grow good 
strong stocks for fruit trees as there is in selecting good garden or 
field seed. One can generally get good peach pits, for it is easy to 
have the order filled when the cannery is running on strong-growing 
yellow varieties, for these are believed to be most vigorous, and 
yet some claim much preference for pits from vigorous seedling 
trees, and make extra eflforts to secure them. Wherever it is possi- 
ble, and if one is only to produce a small lot of trees, it is prac- 
ticable to select from the fruit the seeds for planting. Not only is 
there great difference in the strength of different varieties, but 
individual trees vary greatly. If one is taking seed from an old 
orchard to start his nursery with, he can take pains to get his seed 
from his strongest trees, and thus secure also that which is probably 
best adapted to his locality. 

Apple and Pear Seedlings. — For a small lot of apple and pear 
trees the seed can be best sown in boxes. Select plump pips and 
keep in moist sand, from the time they are taken from the fruit until 
sowing. Fill the boxes, which should be three or four inches deep, 
with good garden mold, cover the seed about half an inch, and then 
cover the soil lightly with chaff or fine straw to prevent the surface 
from drying out. Be sure that the boxes have cracks or holes in 
the bottom for drainage, and the whole is kept moist, but not wet. 
When the seedlings have grown to the height of three inches they 
can be set out in the nursery rows as one would set out cabbage 
plants. 

Cherry Seedlings, — There are different ways of handling pits of 
stone fruits to prepare them for setting out in open ground, which 
will be described. The cherry is grown from pits of two wild varie- 
ties ; one is commonly called the "Black Mazzard." It is the 
common wild cherry of the East, and is the original type of what 
are known as the Heart and Bigarreau types of cherries. The 
other is the "Mahaleb." a European wild species, which is used in 
the East, where it thrives better than the Mazzard, as it is hardier 
stock. In this State the Mahaleb does not seem to have much 
dwarfing effect, as trees on that stock in this State over twenty-five 



74 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

years old are twenty-five inches in diameter of trunk. The Maha- 
leb, however, ripens its wood earlier, and for this reason may be 
valuable in the colder parts of the State. It is also freer from root 
tiouble by extremes of wetness and drouth in the soil, and is largely 
used on low lands. The Mazzard is, however, chiefly used in 
California. Cherry stones are sometimes taken from the fully- 
ripened fruit, dried for two or three days, the stones cracked care- 
fully and planted at once in good soil and kept properly moist. 
They will germinate soon and make a growth of a foot or so the 
first season. Such stocks are taken up for grafting in the winter 
and set out in nursery row the next spring. A better way of 
treating cherry is that given by W. W. Smith, of Vacaville : 

The fruit of the Mazzard should be allowed to get perfectly ripe on 
the tree, then gathered and let lie in a heap for three or four days, so that 
they may be partially or wholly freed from the pulp by washing them in 
water. They should then be spread out in the shade and stirred frequently 
for about twenty-four hours. This will give the outside of the pit time to 
dry sufficiently to prevent molding, while the kernel itself will remain 
fresh and green. They should then be placed in moist (not wet) sand 
and kept so until the rains set in in the fall, when they can be planted in 
drills, in good, rich, mellow soil prepared the previous spring and kept 
clean of weeds through the summer, ready for the purpose. They should 
never be allowed to get perfectly dry; and the reason for it is that we have 
but little or no freezing and thawing weather in this country to cause the 
pits to open; but if they are kept constantly moist it answers the same 
purpose as freezing. The seeds of the Mahaleb cherry will sprout with 
less difficulty, but the same rules for keeping the Mazzards will apply to 
them. 

Other stock for the cherry will be discussed in the chapter on 
that fruit. 

Citrus Fruits. — The propagation of citrus fruits will be described 
in detail in Chapters XXXII, XXXIII and XXXIV. 

The Larger Stone Fruits. — In handling pits of the larger stone 
fruits, apricot, peach, plum, etc., the chief requisite is to prevent 
drying and great hardening of the pit. Some plant in the fall and 
trust to natural conditions to start the seedling in the spring, but 
this interferes with the cultivation of the ground, and leaves the 
seedling to grow in soil which has perhaps been puddled by heavy 
winter rains. There must also be much hand work done to clear 
the rows from weeds. It is much better to keep the pits from 
drying by covering with sand moderately moist, hasten the sprout- 
ing by appropriate treatment toward spring, and then plant out in 
thoroughly prepared soil, and they will make a satisfactory growth. 
The following method, by D. J. Parmele, of Vacaville, has given 
good results : 

Keep the pits out of the sun until the rains commence in the fall, then 
put them into a box about a foot deep with openings at the bottom for 
drainage, and scatter sand or fine earth through them, putting about two 



GROWING SEEDLINGS FROM PITS 75 

inches on top, and place them under the eaves of a building on the south 
side, where they will get well soaked every time it rains. If there should 
be a long dry spell during the winter, water them a little. About March 
they will open and sprout. Then take a plow and open a deep furrow in 
loose, mellow ground, and, with a hoe, pull about two-thirds of the dirt 
back into the furrow, breaking the clods, and making it fine, the same as 
you would if you expected to plant onion seed there. Drop the sprouted 
pits in straight line, and cover two inches. On account of the extra work 
in preparing the ground, the trees will be large enough to bud in July. 

Another way is to spread out the pits on a smooth piece of 
ground and cover with sacks, and over these a layer of straw three 
or four inches thick to retain moisture. The pits may be planted 
out as soon as they crack open, although no harm will be done if 
they are allowed to lie until the sprouts are well out. 

Another method which has been especially recommended for 
treatment for almonds is the following: Lay boards upon the 
ground and cover them with an inch of sand ; spread on this a layer 
of almonds and then another inch of sand, and so on. Keep the pile 
wet, and in three weeks of warm weather they will burst open. 
Plant in drills one inch deep and put over them a light coat of rotten 
straw. 

If from any cause the pits have become quite dry, they should 
be soaked in water two or three days before planting. 

Nut Tree Seedlings. — In growing nut-tree seedlings, much the 
same methods are followed as with pits of stone fruits. There are 
methods described in detail by California growers which should be 
given. As has been said, the nuts may be planted at any time after 
ripening, in the milder parts of the State, if the grower will under- 
take the greater care and cultivation. On some light soils where 
the rainfall is not excessive, this is not much trouble. Felix Gillet, 
of Nevada City, gives this as his method : 

The nuts may be planted as soon as gathered, though in Nevada City 
it is too cold to plant them in the fall, for the frost in winter would surely 
lift the nuts right out of the ground. For keeping and sprouting walnuts. 
I throw into the bottom of a box one inch deep of sand, then a layer of 
nuts; put in another inch of sand, and another layer of nuts, and so on to 
one or two inches from the top. Then water well with a sprinkler and 
water again during the winter whenever the sand gets too dry. The sand 
has to be prettv well saturated with water, especially from the first of 
January down to planting time, which is in February, March, or April, 
according to localities. The latter part of March or first week in April is 
best for Nevada City. The nuts are planted in drills and covered to a 
depth of two to three inches. 

In propagating chestnuts it is always better to select for seed the 
largest, finest, and healthiest nuts; in the fall or beginning of winter the 
nuts have to be planted in a box of damp sand, by layers, the box being 
kept in a cellar. The nuts may be stored in a hole in the open ground, a 
layer of chestnut leaves being first thrown in the bottom of the hole, on 
top of that a layer of nuts, then another layer of leaves, and so on to the 
top, which has to be properly covered with two or three inches of earth 
so as to prevent the frost injuring the nuts. In February or March, 
according to location, the nuts are taken out and planted in drills to a 
depth of three to four inches; less for smaller seed like American chestnuts. 



76 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

In gfrowing seedlings of English walnuts, Mr. J. Luther Bowers, 
of Santa Clara, has shown that water-soaking of nuts may make it 
unnecessary to undertake storage in damp sand, if the nuts are of 
the last crop. He describes the method as follows : 

The nuts should be large and thin shelled and should be of last year's 
crop. To ascertain this, break a few and split the kernel open at the germ 
end, or the point where the root starts. If the meat of the kernel shows a 
clear color they are of last year's crop, but if the flesh shows any dis- 
coloration they are old and will not germinate. I have often got hold of 
a lot that were mixed, old and new together. Never risk a lot of this kind, 
for failure will follow. After the nuts have been selected place them in 
some kind of tin vessel; a five-gallon oil can, with the top removed, is just 
the thing. Then cover them with hot water at not over 110 degrees F. 
Let them remain in this water for 24 hours and plant at once, keeping 
them in the water all the time. Do not let them become the least bit dry, 
and be sure the soil is moist, and put every nut in with the sharp point 
exactly straight down. The root starts from this point and will go 
straight down, and if not molested will the first year be about three times 
the length of the top; that is, if the top grows one foot, the straight tap 
root will be three feet or more long, and will be from three-fourths to an 
inch thick where it grew out of the nut, tapering both up and down. 

Imported Seedlings. — A very large proportion of some kinds of 
the cherry, pear and apple trees produced in this State are worked 
upon imported seedling stocks. These stocks are cheap, convenient 
to handle, and are therefore popular. It is easy enough to grow 
peach, almond, apricot, and Myrobalan seedlings, but small seeds, 
like apple and pear, often do not show up well in the spring, espe- 
cially if the soil is of a kind that crusts over with rain and sunshine. 
Therefore our nurserymen import these seedlings in the winter, 
plant them out, as has already been described, and bud in the 
following summer, grafting the next spring where the buds fail. If 
the seedlings are- large when received, they are often root-grafted 
at once, and then one summer in the nursery gives a tree suitable 
for planting out. These stocks are of better budding size during 
their first summer than California seedlings, which are apt to over- 
grow. 

Myrobalan plum seedlings were formerly imported to a large 
extent, but are now chiefly home-grown, and seedlings are used 
instead of cuttings, which formerly were employed largely. This 
stock has secured great favor for plums and prunes, and in some 
situations, for the apricot, as it is hardier against extremes of drouth 
and moisture. 

Prof. Newton B. Pierce, of Santa Ana, has discovered in Cali- 
fornia upon imported seedlings a serious root-fungus which kills 
all kinds of orchard trees in Europe, and he advises the use of home- 
grown seedlings to escape this danger. 

Fruit Trees from Cuttings. — It is feasible to grow a number of 
kinds of fruit trees from cuttings, but it is not desirable in manv 



now THE WALNUT SEEDLING STARTS 




O 



pq 



Xi 



C 

W 



78 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW TIIEM 

cases to do it. Trees grown from a graft or bud in a seedling root 
are much better. The root system of a seedling is naturally stronger 
and more symmetrical. The roots from a cutting start out at the 
bottom and spread out horizontally and irregularly. This style of 
a root system is expressively named "duck-foot roots," and they do 
not give the tree a deep, strong hold on the soil. Trees can, how- 
ever, be multiplied very fast from cuttings. Notable instances of 
this are the Myrobalan plum and the Leconte pear. Cuttings of 
deciduous trees should be taken from well-matured wood of the 
previous season's growth, and planted in rows and in well-prepared 
soil, as has already been described for the sowing of fruit tree seeds. 
The cuttings should be taken before the sap begins running in the 
winter. A cutting about ten inches long, four-fifths of its length 
buried in the ground, will answer. Be sure that the ground is 
firmed well at the base of the cutting, but keep the surface loose. 
Small wood is better than large, though, of course, the extreme ends 
of twigs should be rejected usually. Cultivation of cuttings is the 
same as that of seedlings, and budding, when the cuttings are to be 
used as stocks, is also governed by the same rules. 

The orange and lemon can be grown from cuttings, but the work 
is done during the summer while the ground is warm. Cut from 
wood one or two years old ; set in open ground with partial shade 
and give plenty of water (dry ground is death to their tender roots), 
but be sure that there is free escape for surplus water. Cuttings 
started in the warm weather and given partial shade and plenty of 
irrigation are very apt to succeed. This method of growing these 
fruits is not, however, in wide use or favor. 

The propagation of the grape, olive and fig from cuttings will be 
considered in the chapters on those fruits. 

Planting Out in Nursery. — For planting out in nursery, the 
term "spring" is given as the proper time, but in California it must 
be remembered that spring is not any definite division of the year. 
"Spring weather" comes from the first of February to the first of 
May, according to the latitude or elevation or exposure resulting 
from local topography. Cherries may be ripe in Vaca Valley before 
fruit trees put out leaves in Modoc county ; and between these 
extremes there are advents of spring in other places according to 
the situation. These facts are more fully set forth in the chapter 
on climate. Spring must be detected in the behavior of vegetation 
and not by the calendar. When the tree buds swell and the leaves 
appear, spring has come for that locality. But whether one can 
plant his nursery then or not will depend upon the character of 
the soil and the condition of the rainfall for that season. This 
varies much from year to year. As a rule, however, in most parts 
where fruit is grown at present in large quantities, the heavy cold 



PLANTING SEEDLINGS IN NURSERY 79 

rains will be over by the first of February, and then nursery opera- 
tions can commence if the soil is in good condition. If not, the 
planter must wait until the soil is dry enough to work nicely. There, 
will, of course, be heavy rains after the first of February ; but they 
will only necessitate cultivation to loosen the soil, if the nursery 
ground is well situated for drainage, and if it is not it should not be 
used for this purpose. 

Supposing the ground has been deeply plowed and thoroughly 
harrowed, as has been already described, the laying out of the 
ground is the next operation. Everything should be done with a 
view to the use of the horse in cultivation. The rows should be 
laid out as straight as possible. Some use a plow furrow; some an 
arrangement like a corn-marker, with two cultivator teeth set four 
feet apart; some stretch a line, to get the pits or root grafts as true 
to it as possible, and some trust to the furrow for straightness. 
No rule can be laid down for means to be employed; the result 
must depend upon the eye and skill of the individual. Some people 
can hardly shoot a straight line with a gun. Each must do the best 
he can in this respect. 

There is a difference in practice as to distance between the rows 
in nursery. The usual distance is four feet, but others claim that 
it is better to make the rows six feet apart, especially where no 
irrigation is practised, as this gives the young trees more room, 
and if the ground is kept thoroughly cultivated, as it should be, it 
gives the roots a greater supply of moisture to draw upon. In 
growing a small lot of trees, where there is plenty of land, it is, of 
course, desirable to give them every advantage in the way of facili- 
ties for growth, but on the other hand, an overgrown tree is not 
desirable. Thrift and strength must be sought rather than size. 

At the ends of the rows spaces of about twelve feet should be 
left as turning-ground for the horse when cultivating, and as a 
roadway. The length of nursery rows depends upon the taste of 
the grower. It is convenient to have alleys wide enough for a 
horse and cart at intervals of one hundred to three hundred feet, 
but in small nurseries the head-lands would probably give all the 
access required. 

The depth for planting seeds and pits must be regulated by the 
size of the seed and the character of the soil, as is always laid down 
by the authorities, and in this State another condition must be made, 
and that is the climate or weather conditions prevailing in the 
locality. Where the rainfall is generally light and the soil loose, 
seed must be planted deeper than where good spring showers are 
to be expected. In fine soils seeds must be planted shallower than 
in coarse, even with the same rainfall. Judgment and experience 
must dictate in this matter, and if a man has no experience, he is 
pretty apt to get it. 



80 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

During the spring months the cultivator must be used as often 
as may be required to keep the weeds from getting too high, or the 
soil from becoming too densely packed by heavy rains, but the 
ground should never be worked when too wet. It requires some 
watchfulness and promptitude to use the cultivator just at the right 
time. 

Nursery Irrigation. — In parts of the State where the rainfall is 
adequate, cultivation thorough, the soil sufficiently retentive, ayd 
atmospheric conditions favorable, the seedling will make its growth 
without irrigation, and many nurseries are on ground not provided 
at all with irrigation facilities. In other parts of the State irrigation 
is necessary. Water should be applied sparingly, and yet enough 
to keep the seedling in healthy growing condition. This is shown 
by the leaves, which should not droop or curl. Excessive irrigation 
should be guarded against, because a soft, excessive growth is very 
undesirable. Water is a good thing, and in some cases a very 
necessary thing, but the use of it should be wisely regulated. At 
budding it is necessary that the sap should be free and the bark 
slip easily. To foster this condition it is sometimes desirable to 
give a watering a few days before budding commences. Water 
should be applied by running it through shallow furrows between 
the rows, and the cultivator should follow as soon as the ground is 
dry enough to work freely. 



CHAPTER IX 

BUDDING AND GRAFTING 

If the nursery ground has been well worked and the seed prop- 
erly handled, the growth of the seedling will be strong and rapid. 
If an early start w^as had and other conditions favorable, some 
kinds will be ready for budding in June, and the production of what 
are called "June buds," as Avill be described presently. In ordinary 
practice, however, budding will come later, and the budding season 
extends from July to October. The weight of the budding of 
deciduous trees is generally done in August and September. 

BUDDING 

The process of budding, as employed on all the common fruit 
trees, is very simple. It consists in lifting the bark and inserting 
a bud" from another tree in such a way that the inner bark of the 
bud shall come in contact with the layer of growing wood in the 
stock, and then it will be quickly knit to it by the new cell-growth 
if the bark is closed around the inserted bud closely enough to 
prevent the air from drying the two surfaces at the point of contact. 

In the engraving 1 is the cutting or "bud stick" from the tree 
of the kind into which it is desired to transform the seedling. This 
cutting is usually made from the growth of the present season, 
which has well-formed buds at the axils of the leaves, although in 
some cases older dormant buds may be used, as will appear in 
the discussions of the different fruits. If buds are desired to mature 
early, pinch off the ends of the growing shoots from which they are 
to be taken. Suckers and so-called "water sprouts" should not be 
used, but rather well-formed wood from the branches of the tree. 
It is requisite that the buds be taken from a vigorous healthy tree 
of the variety desired. Bud sticks can be carried or sent consider- 
able distances if packed in damp moss or other material to prevent 
drying, but care must be taken not to enclose too much water or 
decay will be promoted. Fresh shoots in tight tin boxes without 
wet packing are safer and carry very long distances. Sealing the 
ends with grafting wax is also a good precaution against drying out. 

Budding knives can be bought at all seed stores and cutlery 
establishments. They have a thin, round-ended blade at one end 
of the handle, and at the other end the bone is thinned down, or a 
bone blade inserted. The former is for cutting and the latter for 
lifting the bark of the stock into which the bud is to be placed. 
Armed with a bud stick and such a knife, the "budder" starts in 
upon a row of seedlings. Bending the seedling over a little and 
81 



82 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

holding- it between his left arm and his left leg, he reaches down 
for a smooth place on the bark as near the ground as convenient 
to work, and makes a horizontal cut, and from that a perpendicular 
cut downwards toward the roots, as shown at 3, in the engraving, 
with the bark slightly lifted and ready for the insertion of the bud. 
Next he cuts from his bud stick a bud, as shown at 2. This carries 
with it, on the back, a small portion of the wood of the bud stick 
as well as the bud and bark. It was once claimed that this wood 
should be carefully dug out, but in budding most kinds of trees it 
is not necessary; in fact, it may be better to leave it in; such at 
any rate is the general practice. The point of the bud is now 
inserted at the opening at the top of the slit in the bark of the 
stock and pushed down into place, as shown in figure 5. To handle 
the bud the part of the leaf stem which is left on is of material 
assistance. Nothing remains now but to apply the ligature which 
is to hold down the bark around the bud. 

There are various ways of tying in the bud. Any way will do 
which holds down the bark closely, but not too tightly. Different 
materials are also used, soft cotton twine, stocking yarn, strips of 
cotton cloth, candle wicking, etc. The last-named is perhaps the 
best material, on all accounts, although strips of cheap calico bear 
evenly upon the bark and do very good work. The use of twine 
is speedy, but the strands bearing upon a narrow surface, and not 
being elastic, they are apt to do injury by cutting into the bark 
unless carefully watched and loosened. The fiber from basswood 
bark was formerly largely used, but has given place to the other 
materials named, which are more handily obtained. The buds must 
be examined about a week or ten days after insertion, and the liga- 
ture loosened, for otherwise it will cut into the rapidly-growing 
stock. Sometimes trees are badly injured by neglect in this par- 
ticular. 

In making June buds, where immediate growth of the bud is 
desired, some growers make a hard knot with the cord around the 
stock, above the bud, and then use the loose ends to tie the bud. 
When the binding around the bud is loosened, the hard knot 
remains on the stock, girdles it, and forces the sap into the bud. 
Thin wire, known to nurserymen as "lal^el wire," is also used for 
this purpose. 

In going through the nursery row, all seedlings which are large 
enough are budded at once. In going through the row again to 
look to the bands, if the bud is seen to be fresh looking, it is 
considered to have "taken." In stocks where the first bud has 
dried up, another is inserted lower down. Sometimes seedlings 
which were too small to hold a bud at the first working over are 
given a bud later in the season, or left for taking up for root 
grafting in the winter. 



BUDDINC. FRUIT TREES 



83 




7 Waxed cloth ready S Waxed cloth tightly 
for twisting. twisted. 



9 Bud staked and tied. 



84 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: FIOW TO GROW THEM 

In nursery practice the budder does not stop to tie his buds, but 
is followed in the row by another man, who carries the tying mate- 
rial, and does this part of the work. 

The common method of budding thus described is used on all 
common orchard fruits. Special styles of budding for special fruits 
will be described in the chapters treating of those fruits. 

Usually the budded trees are allowed to stand in the nursery 
row with no other treatment that year than the insertion and care 
of the bud, the latter remaining dormant until the next spring. 
Then, as soon as the sap begins to swell the buds on the stock, the 
top is cut off down to about two inches above the bud, and all 
growth is kept off except that of the inserted bud. When that has 
grown out about twelve inches, the stub is cut off to about three- 
quarters of an inch or less from the bud, and the wood is quickly 
grown over by the bark. As there are apt to be dormant buds on 
the stock below the inserted bud, the trees have to be examined 
from time to time, and all such suckers removed. This is the com- 
mon practice with budded trees. Exceptions will be noticed pres- 
ently in connection with definitions of different kinds of trees 
known to the trade. 

Spring Budding. — What has been said in reference to budding 
applies to the use of dormant buds. It is also possible to work 
with what is called a "pushing bud." This process, as described by 
a distinguished French authority, consists of retarding the growth 
of the buds on the scions by burying them in the ground until the 
sap is starting well in the stock in the: spring, and then putting them 
in, trimming off the top of the stock so as to force the bud into 
growth. In this way the grower of a rare variety may secure trees 
for planting out the following winter, or he may secure a stock of 
buds for fall budding, and thus multiply his stock of a desirable 
variety very rapidly. A modification of this method consists in 
taking buds in the spring when they have grown out even half an 
inch, and inserting them by the usual method of lifting the bark, 
when the sap is flowing well in the stock. Then cut off about half 
the stock, so as not to give the bud too much sap at first, and 
afterward, when it is seen to have taken well, the balance of the 
stock is cut off near the bud. This method gives a tree the first 
season and saves a year over dormant budding. Shade and protec- 
tion from dry wind are desirable. 

GRAFTING 

The next process of propagation to be considered is that by 
grafting. Its success, as with budding, consists in bringing the 
growing wood (inner bark or alburnum) of the scion into contact 



GRAFTING FRUIT TREES 85 

with the same layer of the stock. It can be applied to any part of 
the tree, from the topmost branch to the lowest root, as is the case 
when new trees are made from scions and root fragments. Thus 
grafting pertains both to the production of young trees for planting 
out and to the transformation of old trees bearing worthless fruit 
into producers of choice varieties. 

Grafting for the production of young trees is first in order. 
Instead of budding the seedling during the first summer of its 
growth, it may be allowed to complete its season's growth, and drop 
its leaves. When thus dormant the young trees are taken from the 
ground, the roots rinsed off with water if the ground is wet and 
sticky, or merely shaken free from clinging earth if in a dry time. 
Enough trees are dug at once to graft at a sitting. The grafting 
can be done at the work-bench in the tool-house or barn, and if 
one is pressed with other daylight work, it may be done by lamp- 
light at the kitchen table, if the housewife can be conciliated for 
the muss it will make. 

Care of Scions. — The scions should be previously selected, and 
whether taken from trees on the place or brought from near or 
distant sources away from the farm, should have been placed as 
soon as procured in moist earth on the north side of the house or 
other building, where they will keep cool and damp until one is 
ready to use them. At the East and in parts of this State where the 
ground is apt to freeze, it is necessary to keep scions in the cellar 
with their butts covered with moist sand, but over most of the area 
of the State nothing more is needed than to put down in the earth 
at the base of a tree or on the north side of a building, with, perhaps, 
a box or barrel inverted over them to keep out mice and other 
intruders. Care must be taken not to let them dry up. If it is 
desirable for any reason to keep scions dormant long into the spring 
or summer, of course storage in a cool cellar is better, for in the 
open ground the scions will burst into leaf after a warm spell of 
spring weather. 

In selecting wood for scions, as for bud sticks, never take water 
shoots or suckers that start from the body of the tree and push up 
through the older branches, but always give the preference to 
sound, fully-matured wood, at the ends of the lower or nearly hori- 
zontal branches. Careful experiments have shown that trees grown 
from such scions are more likely to take on a low, spreading habit 
than those from the central or upper branches. The scions should 
be tied in bundles with a stout cord ; and a piece of a shingle, with 
the name of the variety written plainly and deeply thereon, should 
be tied in with each bundle. 

Grafting Wax. — In grafting, a good grafting wax is requisite. 
The ingredients are mixed in different proportions by different 



86 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

growers. A few recipes which are known to give good results are 
as follows : 

Two lbs. mutton tallow; 2 lbs. beeswax; 4 lbs, resin. 
Two and one-fourth lbs. resin; 2 lbs. beeswax; 54 of a lb. tallow. 
One lb. mutton tallow; 2 lbs. beeswax; 4 lbs. resin. 
Two lbs. resin; 2 lbs. beeswax; ^4 lb- tallow, and a little linseed oil. 
Two lbs. resin; 1 lb. beeswax, one quart linseed oil; 4 tablespoonfuls 
turpentine. 

One lb. beeswax; 5 lbs. resin; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 oz. lampblack. 
One lb. beeswax; 5 lbs. resin; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 pint flour. 

All these mixtures are made with the aid of gentle heat, and 
during grafting the wax must be kept warm enough to apply easily 
with a small brush. To do this the wax dish may be kept on a hot 
brick, to be changed for a fresh one as it cools, or, better still, is to 
heat the wax in an old fruit can or something of that kind, inside 
another, which is partly full of warm water. A more capacious 
heater can be made by removing the top of a five-gallon oil can 
and making a hole for draft on one side near the bottom. A slow 
fire can be kept going to heat the wax pot which is suspended from 
a rod across the top. A wire handle makes this outfit portable. 
The wax should not be so hot as to run too easily, but just right to 
spread well. 

Grafting is greatly facilitated by the use of strips of waxed cloth 
or waxed paper, the latter being quite good enough for grafts, 
which are low enough to be protected by a ground covering; also 
for root grafts. This waxed paper is made by spreading a thin coat 
of wax, with a brush, upon tough, thin wrapping paper, cutting up 
the paper, when cold, with a sharp knife, on a board, into strips 
about an inch wide. Waxed cloth is made by dipping cheap cotton 
cloth into hot wax, pulling the pieces between the edges of two 
boards to take out as much wax as possible, and when the cloth is 
cold, tearing it up into half-inch strips for small grafts or wider 
strips for larger grafts. When grafting is going on indoors, these 
strips hanging near the stove are kept in good, soft condition for 
use. 

There are grafting preparations which do not require heating, 
but remain in a semi-fluid state, and then become very hard by 
contact with the air. The following is a popular French prepara- 
tion : 

Melt one pound of resin over a gentle fire. Add to it one ounce of beef 
tallow, and stir it well. Take it from the fire, let it cool down a little, and 
then mix it with a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine, and after that add 
about seven ounces of very strong alcohol. The alcohol cools it down so 
rapidly that it will be necessary to put it once more on the fire, stirring it 
constantly. Great care is necessary to avoid igniting the alcohol. 

This wax is easily prepared, and when well corked will keep for 
six months. It is put on the wounded part of the tree, very thin, 



HOW TO MAKE GRAFTING WAX 87 

and soon becomes as hard as stone. Thus it is valuable not only 
for grafting-, but for covering the scars caused by removing limbs 
in pruning. When bench grafting is done by nurserymen, of course 
all appliances are arranged for the speediest work, and wonderful 
results are attained by one man and a helper, even as many as three 
thousand root grafts of apple in ten hours. We are, however, 
merely discussing home practices. 

Cleft Grafting. — Where various-sized stocks are to be used, as 
will, be the case with a bunch of home-grown seedlings, different 
styles of grafting must be used. Where the stock is much larger 
than the scion, as is apt to be the case with California seedlings, 
the cleft graft will be simplest. Cut off the top smoothly above the 
root crown and then split the top of the stock, as shown in the 
engraving. Then prepare the scion by whittling it to wedge-shape 
at the lower end. Open the slit in the stock with a little wedge and 
insert the scion so that its inner bark matches with the inner bark 
of the stock, something as shown in the second figure. It does not 
matter whether the outside of the scion is flush with the outside 
of the stock or not ; the vital point is to get the growing layers, 
just inside the barks, in contact with each other, and, to be sure of 
this it may be well to give the scion a slight diagonal pitch, for if 
the barks cross each other, this desirable contact is sure to be made. 
It is well to make the side of the wedge of the scion which goes 
nearer to the center of the stock a little thinner than the outside. 

A scion for a root graft is cut longer than for use in the top of 
the tree, for in planting, the point of grafting is placed a little way 
underground. Such scions are usually cut with four or five buds. 
After the scion is in place, it only remains to wrap it closely with a 
piece of waxed cloth or paper, in such a way that all the cut surfaces 
are covered, extending the wrapper a little below the split in the 
root. Paint over the wrapper with warm wax put on with a brush, 
put a little on the top of the scion, and the graft is complete. 

Side Grafting. — Another method which prevents splitting the 
stock is the side graft, shown in the accompanying figure. It con- 
sists in bending the stock to one side and cutting in diagonally 
with a thin-bladed, sharp knife, a little more than half way through 
the stock. Into this open cut insert the scion so that the inner barks 
touch ; then allowing the stock to straighten up, holds the scion 
firmly. Covering with a wax band drawn tight makes a good job, 
and such grafts make as good growth as the buds set the previous 
summer. This method can be used with stems or branches up to 
an inch in diameter, and is essentially the same, as will be men- 
tioned later, as a side graft for working over old trees. In this style 
of grafting, a stub of three inches or more may be left above the 
graft, and to this the graft can be tied to prevent blowing out if it 



88 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

makes a strong growth. Afterward the stub is cut back with a 
sloping cut and waxed or painted to prevent checking. 

Whip Grafting in the Stem. — Grafting above the root or in the 
stem of the stock when stock and scion are about the same size, is 
done by tongue or whip grafting. The accompanying sketch shows 
a whip graft in the stem of the stock. Grafts up to an inch in 
diameter can be made in this way, but it is generally used for 
smaller wood. Care must be taken to secure proper contacts of the 
inner barks at least on one side of the stock. After pushing the 
parts together, a wax band holds them firmly in place, or the joint 
may be simply tied and painted over with wax. 

A Root Graft. — When the root stock and the scion are about the 
same size, the tongue graft is also used, as shown in the figure. In 
making this both the stock and scion are given a sloping cut of 
about the same length, and a secondary cut made in each. When 
the two are put together the wood "tongues in," or interlocks as 
shown in the engraving. The object of this is to make more points 
of contact for the inner barks of root and scion, and at the same 
time to interlock the two more firmly. In putting the two together, 
if the stock is slightly larger than the scion, be sure to put the 
scion so that the inner bark contact is made, and this will bring 
the scion a little to one side of the center. Bind with the wax band, 
and paint with wax as in the case of the former graft. 

In large nursery practice expert grafters have come of late years 
to make this root graft without wax, merely tying in the graft. For 
amateur work at home it is much safer to use the wax. 

Grafting in the root, where the root is much larger than the 
scion, may be done without splitting the root by cutting or sawing 
out a triangular piece on the side of the root, cutting the scion to fit 
and trusting to a strong band to hold it in place. This graft is illus- 
trated in the chapter on propagating the grape. It also works well 
with root grafting the walnut, and is used by some in ordinary top 
grafting on other trees. 

Planting out Root Grafts. — This root grafting can be done in 
the winter before it is time to plant out, and the grafts can be made 
a few at a time, as convenient. The grafts, then, as fast as pre- 
pared, should be bedded in moist sand in the cellar, and will make 
their contact firm, and even start to growing a little. In planting 
out in the nursery rows be sure the earth is firmed well around the 
root otherwise many will be lost. Plant ten or twelve inches apart 
in the rows. Keep the weeds down and the soil well cultivated and 
loose on the surface, and the first season's growth will give a tree 
fit for planting out in orchard in the coming winter. For irrigation 
the rules already given for the growth of seedlings for budding will 
apply. 



VARIOUS FORMS OF GRAFTING 



• 89 





Cleft Graft. 



Bark Graft. 



Wedge Graft. Saddle Graft. 





Whip Graft. 



Bad and Good Whip Graft. 



Side Graft. 



90 . CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

PRUNING TREES IN NURSERY 

As for Other treatment of the trees (either from bud or root 
graft) in nursery during the first year, there is some difiference of 
opinion and practice. If the young tree will be content to make a 
straight switch with good buds in the axils of the leaves, but no 
laterals thrown out, it will be in the best possible shape for planting 
in the orchard, and gives the planter a chance to make the head at 
whatever height suits him, and to secure uniformity through the 
orchard. All trees will not, however, be content with this growth, 
but will push out laterals all along the stem. Even in this case 
some let the whole growth go for the planter to treat as he thinks 
best. Another plan is to go over the nursery when the young stock 
is about two feet high and pinch back the laterals part way, but 
retaining the leaves nearest the stem to shade the stem. This 
pinching back is done from the ground up to a height of one to 
one and a half feet, and above that the growth is left to take its 
natural course, to be cut as desired when the head of the tree is 
formed. Pinching back develops buds near the stem and gives the 
planter a better chance to head the tree lower if he likes. Another 
practice which prevails to some extent, is to pinch ofif the terminal 
bud when the young tree has reached a height of about two and a 
half or three feet in the nursery. This soon forces a growth of 
lateral branches, which are in turn pinched after they' have grown 
out a couple of feet. The result is the formation of a head on a 
nursery tree the first year, and when such trees are planted in 
orchard the}^ are merely cut back on the laterals, leaving the head 
as formed in the nursery. Such trees arc difificult to handle in 
packing, and take much room in shipment. There may, however, 
be an advantage in such practice for the home grower if he is sit- 
uated in parts of the State where the greatest season's growth is 
attained. Orchard planters generally, however, prefer a June bud 
or a yearling of moderate growth, without laterals. 

CLASSES OF NURSERY STOCKS 

The several classes of stock which are to be had from nurseries 
arc as follows : 

Root Grafts. — These are seedling roots, or pieces of them, on 
which scions of the desired variety have been grafted on the bench 
and the junction healed over in the cellar. No growth has yet 
started in the scion. If the tree planter wishes this kind of stock, 
he should plant it out in nursery row in the spring and remove the 
trees to orchard the following winter. 

June Buds. — For multiplying varieties very fast, buds are kept 
dormant in a cool place ; or, by pinching off the top shoots of the 



RENOVATING OLD TREES 91 

current year arc forced to mature Intds very early. These buds are 
put into seedling stocks as early in the season as possible. After 
budding, the top of the stock is girdled with knife or cord, or partly 
cut away, and growth is forced on the bud so as to give a small 
tree at the end of the first summer. This method of propagation is 
growing in popularity in this State, especially in the foothill dis- 
tricts, where small trees are preferred for transplanting. 

Dormant Buds. — Trees are sold in dormant bud when they are 
lifted from the nursery and sent out before any growth has started 
on the inserted bud. The bud should be seen to be the color of 
healthy bark. Such trees should only be used when yearlings are 
not to be had and gain in time is very important. Care must be 
constantly taken that growth starts from the right bud, and that it 
be protected from breaking ofif by wind or animals. A considerable 
percentage of loss is usual, and extra dormant buds should be 
planted in nursery rows to fill vacancies. 

Yearling Trees. — These are trees which have made one season's 
growth from the bud or graft. Two-year-olds have made two 
seasons' growth, and so on. The proper way to count the life of 
a tree is from the starting of growth in the bud or graft, for this 
point is really the birth of the tree. 

WORKIxNG OVER OLD TREES 

Another operation which may be properly considered as a branch 
of propagation is the working over of old trees. There is much 
of this being done every year in this State. The old seedling fruits 
in the older settled parts of the State are being made to bear 
improved varieties ; trees of varieties illy adapted to prevailing con- 
ditions are changed into strong growing and productive sorts ; trees 
are changed from one fruit to another, when affinity permits. This 
will be mentioned in the discussion of the dififerent fruits. Still 
another reason for working over is to secure more valuable and 
marketable varieties. Sometimes a mixed orchard is made to bear 
a straight line of one sort which is in demand, or when the grower 
finds he has too many trees of a single kind, which give him more 
fruit than he can conveniently handle when it all ripens at one time, 
he works in other varieties so as to get a succession of varieties 
adapted to his purpose, and thus secures a longer working season 
in which to dispose of them. This is especially the case in large 
orchards of apricots, peaches, and plums, when the grower depends 
upon drying his crop. Information concerning the successive ripen- 
ing of varieties can be gained from the special chapters on the 
different fruits. For all of these reasons, and others which need not 
be enumerated, the work of the propagator is continually going on 



92 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

even in our large bearing orchards. As with young trees, so with 
old, transforming the character of the tree is done both by budding 
and grafting. 

Budding Old Trees. — One way to prepare an old tree for bud- 
ding is to cut back the branches severely during the latter part of 
the winter, which has the effect of forcing out new shoots around 
the head of the tree, and in these the buds of the desired variety 
are set in the summer, just as is done in budding nursery stock, 
except that the budding should be done rather earlier because the 
sap does not run as late. When the shoots are budded, those being 
selected which are situated so as to give the best symmetry to the 
new head, the shoots not budded are broken a foot or so from where 
they emerge from the old wood, and are allowed to hang until 
pruning time. At the winter pruning the budded branches are 
topped off a little above the bud, and when the new shoot starts it 
is often loosely tied to the stub of the old branch to prevent breaking 
out in the wind. When it gets strength, the stub is cut away 
smoothly to allow the wound to heal over. 

Another way is to insert the buds"in the old bark at points where 
it is desirable to have the new branches start. This is sometimes 
done by lifting the bark, as in ordinary budding, and slipping the 
bud under, sometimes by what is called shield or plate budding, 
which consists in removing a piece of the old bark entirely and 
putting in its place a piece of bark of the desired variety, having 
upon it a dormant bud. With plate budding it is necessary to be 
careful to have the inserted bark just the size of the bared spot, 
and to wrap it more closely than when the bud is slipped under the 
bark of the stock. In all cases in budding old trees, care must be 
taken to get fully-matured buds, and it is well to take them from 
large shoots, which have a thicker and firmer bark than may be 
used in budding nursery stock. It is also desirable to be very 
sure that the buds are taken not only from a tree of the desired 
variety, but from a healthy, vigorous tree of that variety. 

In selecting buds, also, one must be sure that he gets leaf buds, 
and not fruit buds only. In taking buds from some kinds of bearing 
trees, of course, he may sometimes, to get well-ripened buds, be 
obliged to take both fruit and leaf buds together. This will work 
well if care is taken not to rub off the leaf bud. It is rather easier, 
however, to work with buds from young trees not yet in bearing 
if one can be sure that these trees are of the desired variety. 

Grafting Old Trees. — Old trees are also renewed by grafting. 
This is most generally done by the old process of "top grafting." 
The main stem or the larger branches are cut square off, and the 
scions, usually two, but four or more if in the trunk, are shaped and 
set into clefts in the stock as shown in the engraving. It is better 



TIMES FOR GRAFTING 93 

to use limbs above the main fork, or head of the tree, than to graft 
in the trunk, if the old trees are of good size. The following 
description, which the writer borrows in part from some unknown 
source, will serve to guide novices in the matter : 

The outfit necessary for doing the work consists of a small, fine saw, 
a regular grafting knife, or a pocket-knife with a long, straight sharp blade, 
wax, light mallet, and a hard-wood narrow wedge. _ After selecting the limb 
to be grafted, saw it ofif — your own judgment will guide you as to best 
point, but before the saw gets quite through the limb, cut the bark on the 
under side of the limb to prevent the liability of peeling down. 

Next split the stub with knife and mallet and insert the wedge in the 
center of the cleft to hold it open. It is usual to cut the scion with two 
buds, but sometimes better results are had by using scions with but a single 
bud. Whittle the scion wedge shape, so that it fits nicely down into the 
cleft. To do this, hold it in the left hand with the bud at the ball of the 
thumb, then cut the side toward you; as will be natural, turn it over, and 
cut the opposite side in the same way, making the wedge a very little 
thinner on the edge opposite the bud than the other. This will insure a firm 
pressure, at the points where the bark of scion and stock meet. 

When set, the bud of the scion will be on line with the outer long portion 
of the graft. The point to be closely observed in adjustment is to have the 
inner or sap bark of the scion connected with the same of the stock. If a 
trifle too far in, or too far out, the work will be a failure. Some people set 
the graft a little out at the top and a little in at the bottom, so as to be sure 
of a connection at the crossing-point, but there will be firmer hold if there 
is a union the whole length. Our rule has been to have the wood of the 
scion come exactly parallel with the surface of the stock, and we seldom 
fail in getting firm adhesions and solid limbs after j'ears of growth. 

After the scions are set, and two should be put into one limb if large, 
carefully withdraw the wedge and applv the wax, so that every part of the 
wood and bark cut and split is well coated. In doing this use extreme 
care not to move the scions at all from their sittings. If the pinch of the 
stock is seen to be severe, a small wedge mav be left in the center to save 
the scions from crushing. If there is a large cleft, it may be filled with 
damp clay before waxing over. 

Most grafting over of old trees is done by this method, using one 
or another of the wax preparations described upon a preceding 
page. If the cut surface of the stock and the split is thoroughly- 
waxed over as low as the bark is split, there is usually little trouble 
with the growth of the scion and the healing over of the stock. In 
the warmer valleys in the interior, the sun is often hot enough to 
melt the wax and cause it to run and bare the wood surfaces. This 
is prevented by dusting the wax thoroughly with brick dust well 
powdered ; but, by a little experimenting with the recipes already 
given, one can secure a wax which will stand any heat likely to be 
encountered. 

For grafting over trees by working upon the limbs, the neatest 
and surest work can be done by methods of grafting which do not 
require the splitting of the stock. There are various ways of doing 
this. One method is shown in the engraving on the next page, and 
consists in cutting the scion as shown, and inserting it beneath the 
raised bark and then binding well with waxed bands, the prepara- 
tion of which has already been described. 



94 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Another method is an application of what the French call oblique 
side grafting. It consists of making an oblique cut downward 
through the bark of the stock and for a distance into the wood, 
using a chisel and mallet or even a strong knife. A saw and knife 
are also used for making this cut, as will be described in the chapter 
on the peach. A small form of side graft has already been shown 
earlier in this chapter. In it the scion is held in with a wax band. 
Some growers remove the top of the stock with a sloping cut about 
half an inch above the scion, as shown in the engraving, and wrap 
the waxed band well around and over all the exposed surfaces. 
Others do not remove the whole of the limb until the scion has 
started well into growth, and then they cut down and pare the stock 
and cover with a band or with a wax that will not run in the sun. 

Several ingenious devices have been patented by Californians 
for securing uniformity in the incision in the stock and in shaping 
the scion, but it is so easy to succeed with ordinary tools that such 
inventions have never come into wide use. Machines for the bench 
grafting of vines have, however, been successfully employed to a 
certain extent, but are not generally used. 

TIMES FOR GRAFTING IN CALIFORNIA 

There is nothing particularly new about the methods or means 
employed for grafting deciduous fruit trees in California, but the 
time at which the operation can be successfully done, and the condi- 
tion of the scion, are different from those held to be necessary m 
other climates. It is not at all requisite that the scions should be 
carefully stored away to keep then in a dormant condition, nor 
that the grafter should haste to do his work in just such a state of 
sap-flow in the spring time. It was early discovered that grafting 
could be successfully done with growing scions, and that scions 
could be cut from one tree and set in another nearly at any time 
the grafter desired. Grafting is therefore possible much later in 
the season than is prescribed elsewhere, and it is also possible to 
begin earlier. In one of the largest apple and pear orchards in the 
State it is common to graft in December. The absence of freezing 
weather saves the graft from injury. As our trees start their flow 
of sap early, and often when the ground is too wet for comfortable 
orchard work, it is the practice of many to get their grafting and 
pruning done before the heavy midwinter rains begin. The practice 
of most growers is, however, to conform somewhat nearly to tradi- 
tional methods, to do most of the grafting in the spring months, 
and to use dormant scions, the growth of which is retarded by 
heeling them in on the north side of a building, or keeping them 
in sand in the cellar, as the grower chooses. Of course it should be 
understood that there are parts of the State where the winter condi- 



TIMES FOR GRAFTING 95 

tions are more nearly like those at the East, and practice has to 
conform to them. 

As to whether it is better to remove the whole top of the tree 
and graft all the limbs in one year, there is some difference of 
opinion. The prevailing practice is to graft over part of the limbs 
one year and the balance the following year ; or else to leave part 
of the top to shade the bark and take part of the sap flow until the 
grafts start out well, and then cut it away. When a large amount 
of grafting is to be done, the limbs may be cut off during the weeks 
preceding grafting. In this case, the cut should be made a foot or 
two above the grafting point and a second cut be made at this 
point, when ready to put in the scions. 

Whenever old bark is exposed by cutting back for grafting, thor- 
ough protection against sunburn must be provided. The simplest 
way to do this is to cover the exposed bark with good whitewash. 
By using thirty pounds of lime, four pounds tallow, and five pounds 
of salt with enough water to make it flow well, a tenacious white- 
wash can be secured. 

What has been said thus far relates especially to the working 
over of old trees of common deciduous fruits. Though much the 
same method will succeed with some of the semi-tropical fruits and 
with nut trees, the discussion of their propagation and grafting over 
will be deferred to the chapters devoted to them, and this will also 
give opportunity to describe methods especially adapted to these 
fruits. 



I 



CHAPTER X 
PREPARATION FOR ORCHARD PLANTING 

The two essentials in preparing land for trees or vines are deep 
and thorough cultivation, and provision for drainage, unless the 
situation is naturally well drained. Drainage will be considered in 
connection with irrigation in another chapter. In this place, how- 
ever, by way of emphasis, it may be remarked that high land is 
not necessarily well drained, although the general feature of the 
surface may be an incline, nor is low land necessarily wet, although 
the surface may be apparently level. For horticultural purposes 
the drainage of the land must be considered on the hillside as well 
as in the valley, for reasons which will be more fully set forth in 
the chapter on drainage. 

The preparation of land for fruit planting should begin with 
grading. In irrigated orchards this is essential for the equal distri- 
bution of water. Even where irrigation is not anticipated, it is of 
decided advantage to smooth down hummocks and fill sags which 
are likely to collect water in the rainy season. As has been shown 
in Chapter III, this can be done on most California soils without 
danger of uncovering a sterile subsoil. Some intimation of the 
method of grading is given at the close of Chapter VII. In prep- 
aration for the irrigated orchard, and irrigation is now widely 
employed even in regions where formerly rainfall was the sole 
reliance, it is important that accurate grading should be done and 
the use of the surveyor's level and grade stakes will be found very 
desirable. All moving of soil should precede the general plowing. 

For the planting of orchard or vineyard the land must be put in 
as good tilth as possible, and extra expenditure to secure this will 
be amply repaid in the after-growth of the trees and vines. If 
practicable, it will be all the better to have the process of preparation 
begin a year before the trees or vines are to be set. This is true 
either with newly-cleared land, as has been described, or with old 
grain or pasture land which is to be used, leaving the surface rough 
during the winter, facilitates the access of air to the lower layers 
of the soil, and in a certain sense may be said to sweeten and enliven 
it. Following in the furrow with a subsoil plow is very desirable, 
either at the first plowing or later. Such treatment of old grain 
land breaks up the old hardpan,* which has probably been formed 
by years of shallow culture. The preparation should continue 
during the following summer, and can often be made both thorough 
and profitable by the growth of a summer "hoed crop," the culture 

• In this connection the term means "plow-sole." Treatment of true hardpan will be 
described in the next chapter. 

% 



WAYS OF LAYING OUT ORCHARDS 97 

of which will kill out many weeds and secure good pulverization of 
the soil. If no summer crop is grown, the land should be kept in 
cultivation by plowing the weeds under as long as the surface soil 
retains moisture enough to start them. A special advantage of such 
summer-fallow in regions where the rainfall is apt to be short is 
that, prevention of evaporation, the trees or vines set the following 
winter will have a good part of the rainfall of two seasons to grow 
with, and the result will often be very noticeable. If there are 
supplies of manure available, as is often found in old corrals on our 
grain or stock farms, it is better to gather and apply this the winter 
before the planting of the trees. If this work is not done, then it 
should be left until after the trees are planted, and then be spread 
upon the surface during the winter, and plowed in after it has been 
in part leached into the soil by the rains. Application should be 
made evenly all over the surface, and not massed around the roots 
of the trees, unless it is to be applied as a mulch to the surface 
after the spring cultivation is over, as will be considered later. 

If it is thought desirable to plant the land immediately after 
breaking up, put in the plows as early in the fall as it is possible to 
do deep work, that is, to plow to a depth of ten or twelve inches, 
or more. Harrow thoroughly. If it is still early, cross-plow for 
fruit. Thorough and deep breaking up as soon as practicable to 
plow in the fall, and also deeply when the land pulverizes well, and 
follow in the furrow with the subsoil plow, working to a depth of 
fourteen inches or more. For this kind of work good teams are 
needed, and the plow should be sharp and bright. If the work is 
hard for the team, set the plow so as to take less land, but do not 
sacrifice the depth. Harrow again thoroughly, and the land is ready 
for the trees or vines. 

Avoiding Dead Furrows. — Unless dead furrows can be used to 
advantage for surface drainage in case of heavy rain-storms, it will 
be of decided convenience in laying off to have the field free from 
them. This can, of course, be secured by beginning the final plowing 
at a line in the center of the field, turning all furrows inwards. 
In this case, too, if a right-hand plow is used, the team will always 
turn on unplowed land, and thus avoid trampling upon and packing 
the loose soil. The slight ridge in the center of the field formed 
by the first two furrows can be easily leveled by a couple of back 
furrows, and when properly harrowed the field will be found smooth 
as a floor for staking out for planting. 

LAYING OUT I<OR PLANTING IN SQUARES 

It is very desirable, both for con\enience in cultivation and for 
the beauty of the orchard, that the trees should stand in straight 
lines, and care should be taken to attain that end. Most orchards 



98 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and vineyards in this State are laid ont in squares ; that is, the 
rows of trees or vines are all at right angles to each other, as shown 
in the accompanying sketch. This is the simplest arrangement ; 
and by some of our largest planters is held to be the best. It is true 
that the trees are not equidistant from each other in all directions, 
and that, theoretically at least, there is a portion of the ground 
unused — supposing that the roots occupy a circle, as do the 
branches. Practically, however, it may be doubted whether the 
hungry roots of well-grown trees or vines leave any portion of the 
soil unvisited. 

There are also forms of double squares and alternating squares 
available for planting at long distances, with growths between, 
which are ultimately to be cut out, or for vines between fruit trees. 
Such mixed planting is, however, but little practiced in California. 

VARIOUS WAYS OF MARKING FOR SQUARES 

Mark'ng With a Plow. — This method was used in laying off 
some lari. . orchards in the Sacramento Valley. A common two- 
horse turning plow is rigged with a "marker" — a light wooden bar 
extending at right angles from the beam, the bar being as long as 
the desired distance between the rows of trees. On the end of this 
bar a crosspiece is fastened perpendicularly, so that it scratches 
along on the surface of the ground. The line of the first furrow has 
to be designated by a flag stake, to which the plowman proceeds. 
When this is done, the team is turned and sent back along the next 
row, the location of which has been fixed by the marker, and so on 
for the length of the field, the marker being turned each time to 
indicate the next furrow. Following the same course the other way 
of the field leaves the trees to be planted at the intersection of the 
furrows. 

Measure and Sight. — Another method which is quite commonly 
used and answers a good purpose in small plantings is the combina- 
tion of measure and sight. The sighting stakes are usually plas- 
terers' laths pointed at one end and whitewashed to make them 
more visible to the eye. In the use of these it is necessary to 
measure the distances and locate the laths to mark the ends of the 
rows all around the field. Then locate a line of laths across the 
field each way through the center, these laths occupying places 
which the trees of these two central rows will fill. After these are 
in place, measurement can be dispensed with, and the job can be 
finished by sighting through. The man on the ends of the rows has 
three laths to sight by in each row, and the stake driver places the 
stakes as directed by the sighter. Good location can be done this 
way if a man has a good eye and patience enough. 



WAYS or- LAYING OUT ORCHARDS 



99 



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The Quincunx system. 



100 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Marking Off With a Wire. — A measuring wire or chain is, 
perhaps, the best means for getting accurate location of trees or 
vines. It is used either for setting in squares or in other arrange- 
ment, as will be described presently. Measuring wires are made of 
annealed steel wire about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The 
length varies according to the wishes of the user. If it is desired to 
lay off the plantation in blocks of one acre, the wire should be two 
hundred and eight feet nine inches long, for that is approximately 
the length of one side of a square inclosing an acre of ground. But 
some use a wire as long as three hundred feet, when the acre 
measure is of no consequence ; and others, in smaller plantings, 
make the wire just the length of the piece they have in hand. At 
each end of the wire is fixed a strong iron ring about one and a half 
inches in diameter, to be slipped over stakes ; some use a larger ring, 
say three inches in diameter, because it is easier to handle in pulling 
taut. Along this wire, patches of solder are placed exactly at the 
distances desired between the rows of trees or vines, and to these 
places pieces of red cloth are sometimes fastened so that the points 
may be easily seen. Another style of measuring wires is made of 
smal! wire cable about a quarter of an inch in diameter, made of 
several strands of small wire. It is more flexible and less likely to 
become kinked than the large wire, and can be easily marked off 
to represent the distances, at which rows of different kinds of trees 
should be placed, by separating the strands a little at the desired 
points and inserting a little piece of red cloth, pressing the wires 
together again and tying firmly with a waxed thread to prevent 
slipping. In this way the same wire can be easily arranged for 
planting vines or for the trees requiring the greatest distance 
between the rows. Another advantage of the cable is that any 
stretching can be taken up by retwisting, which cannot be done with 
the stretching of a single wire. Another good style of planting wire 
is made of 2, 4 or 6-foot links of No. 12 steel wire (including the 
diameters of the small rings turned at each end of the link pieces). 
As all planting will probably be at multiple distances of these link- 
lengths, the cloth tags can be changed and the chain thus be marked 
for any desired distances. 

Finding a True Corner. — To use the measuring Mare for laying 
out .trees on the square, it is necessary first to get one corner true, 
and then a field of any size can be marked out accurately. Select 
the side of the field which is to serve as the base of the square and 
stretch the wire along that, say fifteen feet from the fence, which 
will give room enough to turn with the team in cultivation or to 
drive along in picking-time. When the wire is thus stretched 
parallel with the boundary of the field, place a stake at each of the 



HOW TO FIX DISTANCES 101 

distance tags on the wire, and these stakes will represent the first 
row of trees or vines. To find a square corner, begin at the starting 
point and measure off sixty feet along this row with a tape line, 
and put a temporary stake, then from the starting point measure 
off eighty feet as nearly at a right angle with the first line as can be 
judged with the eye, and run diagonally from this point the tem- 
porary sixty-foot stake. If the distance between these stakes is one 
hundred feet, then the corner is a right angle. Now, having the 
outside lines started at right angles to each other, one can proceed 
with the measuring wire and lay off as large an area as he desires, if 
care is taken to have each line drawn parallel with the last, and all 
stakes accurately placed with the tags on the wire — providing the 
land is nearly level or on a uniform grade. In locating trees over 
uneven ground, the measurements will have to be made from tree to 
tree, with the tape line held as nearly to a level as possible. 

Rows on Hillsides. — Laying off' orchard or \ineyard on hillside 
too steep to plow botli ways, there is advantage sometimes in 
placing the rows up and down the hill nearly twice as far apart as 
the rows along the face of the hill. In planting trees thus the 
advantage to be gained is by enabling you to keep the team well up 
the hill ; thereby you are able to plow or cultivate the trees close on 
the lower side of the rows. There is no difificulty in cultivating the 
upper side of the rows, for the plow or harrow is always below the 
team. If trees are planted as recommended, the team can be guided 
up the hill a little between the rows, then allowed to drop downhill 
one step, and thus one can cultivate the trees close on the lower side. 
The same rule will apply to vines. 

QUINCUNX PLANTING 

There is much confusion in the use of this term in this State. 
It is, in fact, made to cover almost every kind of arrangement which 
is not on the square. Webster defines the term to mean "the 
arrangement of things, especially of trees, by fives in a square, one 
being placed in the middle of a square." Trees set in quincunx 
would stand as shown in the accompanying diagram. To locate 
them in this form it is only necessary to proceed as already described 
for planting in squares, by fixing upon the base line and locating 
two side lines to it at right angles. Place the stakes on these two 
lines just half the distance desired between the trees, and have the 
measuring wire long enough to reach across from one line to the 
other. Near one end of the wire place another mark just half way 
between the end and the first tree mark ; that is, if the trees are to be 
twenty-four feet apart in the squares, this additional mark should 
be twelve feet from the end of the wire. Now set the first row with 
the end of the wire at the corner stake, and set stakes at each 
twenty-four foot mark. 



102 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Proceed now to the first half-way stake, and instead of putting 
the end of the wire at this stake, put the twelve-foot mark there. 
Put stakes now at each twenty-four foot mark again to locate the 
trees in that row. In the next row put the end of the wire at the 
first stake and proceed as in the first row. Thereafter using the end 
of the wire and the twelve-foot marks alternately, the stakes will 
be set in quincunx all over the field. If the midway stakes are now 
pulled out along the two side lines, the remaining stakes show 
where the trees are to be placed. This way of planting locates about 
78 per cent more trees upon any given area, but it brings the trees 
at irregular distances from each other, and except in furnishing a 
way to arrange an orchard with permanent and temporary trees, 
there does not seem to be any advantage in it. 

PLANTING IN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES 

This is the arrangement generally implied when the term "quin- 
cunx" is wrongly employed. By it the trees are all equally distant 
from each other, and thus the ground divided as equally as possible. 
The arrangement admits 15 per cent more trees to the acre than 
the setting in squares, and the ground can be worked in three 
different directions. This arrangement also gives better facilities 
for irrigation. Objections are urged to it, however, in that it does 
not admit of thinning trees by removal of alternate rows, as is 
sometimes desirable, and that one has to take a zigzag course in 
driving through the orchard. 

Hexagonal planting places the trees as shown in the accompany- 
ing sketch. 

It is termed hexagonal because, as the figure consists of six 
trees inclosing a seventh, a line drawn through the encompassing 
trees makes a hexagon. It is also called septuple planting, because 
seven trees enter into its figure. 

An orchard can be laid out in hexagonals by using the measuring 
wire as described for quincunx planting with the distance and half- 
distance marks, except that the guide stakes in the side rows must 
be placed at different distances apart. The following table, showing 
the distance for side stakes to reach desired distance between the 
trees, and the method of calculating the number of trees to the acre 
by the square and hexagonal or sextuple arrangement : 

Trees set Sextuple Check-stakes should be 

10 feet apart 8 feet 8 inches. 

12 feet apart 10 feet 4 2-5 inches. 

14 feet apart 12 feet ^ inches. 

16 feet apart 13 feet lOj/2 inches. 

18 feet apart 15 feet 7 inches. 

20 feet apart 17 feet 4 inches. 

21 feet apart 18 feet 2^ inches. 

22 feet apart 19 feet ^ inches. 

24 feet apart 20 feet 9^ inches. 



TRIANGULAR PLANTING 



103 



After tlic Held is staked, eacli allernate stake in llie check rows should be 
removed. The followino; talilc will show the luiniher of trees to the acre by 
the square and septuple system: 

Square Septuple 

10 feet apart 435 500 

12 feet apart 302 347 

14 feet apart 222 255 

16 feet apart 170 195 

18 feet apart 134 154 

20 feet apart 109 125 

21 feet apart 99 114 

22 feet apart 90 103 

24 feet apart 75 86 

For any distance not given in the above table, calculate the number of 
trees to the acre by the square system, and add fifteen per cent. This will 
give the number if planted septuple. 

Laying Out Hexagonals With a Triangle. — It is possible to lay 
out an orchard in hexagonal form by working from stake to stake 
with an equilateral triangle of dimensions equaling the distance 
required between the trees. 




One corner of triangle — all being made alike. 



Take three strips of one-by-two-inch dry pine or redwood, and as long 
as you wish the distance between the trees. Cut the strips the same length, 
and fasten the corners of the triangle firmly together by nailing two pieces 
of pine board six by six inches. 

If the long strips are set up edgewise, the triangle will be much stiflfer 
and better to carry. Through the corner boards bore an inch hole, making 
sure that the three sides of the triangle measure exactly the same. If they 
do, the triangle must necessarily be perfect. Then brace it a little by nail- 
ing a lath across each corner, and it is readv for use. 

Now split out some three-quarter-inch pins, one foot long, from good, 
straight-grained redwood. Make one hundred pins for each acre you have to 
lay off. 

Three persons must now carry the triangle, beginning on one side of the 
field, say eight feet from the fence, and guided the first time through by a 
line of stakes. Carry the triangle with its side to the line of guide stakes and 



104 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW Trt GROW THEM 

its point ill. The liead man and tlic inside man will .slici< pins, while the rear 
man will slip his corner each time upon the pin set by the head man. 

After the first time across, the man at the inside point of the triangle 
alone will set pins, while the other two fit their corners upon the pins in the 
last row set. Thus one row of pins only is set each time you go across the 
field. 

If the triangle is exact, and the first row of pins is set perfectly straight, 
and the pins are always set perpendicularly, everything will now work like a 
charm and the job will be perfect; and it is so simple and easy that a man 
and two small boys can lay oi¥ from five to ten acres in one day. Remember 
that no guide stakes are used anywhere after the first time through. 

The Triangle on Hillside. — The use of the triangle requires a 
little nicety in "'leveHng up" where the piece is hilly. By using a 
plumb-line at two corners of the triangle, the third corner resting 
on one of the stakes, leveling the triangle and bringing one of the 
plumb-lines over another stake already set, the position of the other 
line would determine the position of the next stake. This method 
has worked fairly well, even in places where the slope was sufficient 
to give a fall of six feet between the trees, which were set twenty 
feet apart. 

Locating in Triangles With a Chain. — Instead of a wooden 
triangle, a chain has been used in this way : 

First stretch a chain along one side of the ground, setting by it the first 
row of stakes. This forms the base line. Have a piece of chain just twice 
the length of the established distance between trees, with ample rings on the 
ends and a joint in the middle. Put one of the rings over the first stake and 
the other over the second stake. Then take the joint in the middle of the 
chain and stretch it out reasonably tight. The wire forms a letter V, at the 
focus of which stick a stake. The point is indicated with precision by the 
joint in the middle of the chain. Then take the ring off the first stake and 
put it over the third stake, leaving the one on the second stake where it is. 
Tighten the chain again, and another point is fixed. Thus continue all the 
base line, shifting the rings alternately, turning over the chain as one turns 
a pair of draughtman's compasses in his hand when spacing ofif a line. The 
second row of stakes being set, set the third row, and so on through the 
ground. 

The suggestions given in this chapter should indicate ways 
enough to lay off orchard and vineyard ground to answer all needs, 
though there are other good ways not mentioned. It is hoped that 
the instructions will not be regarded as too explicit. They are 
intended for the guidance of the inexperienced planter, and will 
naturally seem laden with detail to those who have become familiar 
with the operations by repeated practice. 



CHAPTER XI 

PLANTING THE TREES 

After the field has been graded, thoroughly tilled and carefully- 
laid ofif as has been described, the next step is digging the holes for 
the trees. "How large shall the holes be?" He was a wise fruit 
grower who, when asked this question, replied, "As large as the 
field." That is to say, it is much better to work the whole ground 
over deeply than to trust to deep holes and shallow working else- 
where. Where this is done, the tree holes need only be large enough 
and deep enough to receive the roots without folding them in or 
cramping them up. In a loose, deep soil, however, one can dig extra 
deep and broad holes if he desires, and will be repaid by extra 
growth of the tree ; but in a close, tenacious soil a deep hole is not 
only undesirable, but often positively a danger to the tree unless 
drainage of the holes is provided artificially. Such holes hold water 
like a tub, and the loosening of the soil deeply facilitates its gathering 
in the hole. IMany have found their trees in such places dwindling 
and dying because their roots were soaking in water. 

Planting on Some Shallow Soils. — As a rule, trees should have 
a deep soil, and for these deep, free loams, California is famous, but 
there are situations where very satisfactory growth and production 
can be had, even when the hardpan is near the surface and the soil 
would be called shallow. In such places it is the character of the 
subsoil which warrants the tree and vine planter in making use of 
them. Sometimes the hardpan is so thin and near the surface that 
it can be broken through with a pick in digging the tree hole. 
Otherwise boring is done. It is about forty years since Mr. James 
Rutter, of Florin (on the "bedrock" lands near Sacramento), first 
noticed that there were vines here and there which grew exception- 
ally well and bore large crops of fine fruit. He found by investiga- 
tion that under these vines there were crevices in the bedrock, and 
from this he took the hint to bore through this hardpan in the 
bottom of the hole where he placed the tree, and in this way he 
gained access for the roots to the subsoil and egress for the water 
through the permeable substratum. He bored a hole two inches in 
diameter into or through the bedrock and rammed well into it one 
and a half pounds of black blasting powder. After exploding this, 
he somtimes bored a three-inch hole about four feet below the blast. 
Instead of blasting in the whole where the tree is to be planted, 
some bore and blast in the hardpan midway between the rows, 
placing the holes at "quincunx" with the trees. The shattering of 
the hardpan between the trees is said to be practicable after the 
105 



106 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

trees are growing, and may in certain soils relieve trees which are 
suffering for lack of drainage. A half-pound cartridge of dynamite 
has been successfully used for subsoil blasting, and some have 
reported in favor of exploding a quarter-pound cartridge quite near 
to a tree suffering from standing water, putting in the charge during 
the dry season. 

There are many situations where such practice would be bene- 
ficial, and in some cases mere digging or boring through the 
impervious stratum avails much. There are spots where "lava 
crusts" overlie gravel, and trees have been well grown by cutting 
holes through the lava to the gravel, filling with good soil and 
planting the trees in these holes. Their roots penetrate to the gravel 
stratum and obtain abundant moisture and nutriment. In certain 
situations where a shallow layer of soil overlies a heavy clay, trees 
have been blown over, but when a cut has been made through the 
clay, the trees have rooted deeply and have withstood the winds. 

Shooting Holes for Trees. — Even where there are continuous 
depths of dense strata, and not shallow hardpan underlaid by free 
soils, trees can often be successfully grown by the use of high 
explosives. In his book on "Soils," Professor Hilgard gives these 
suggestions : 

A permanent loosening of dense sub-strata is best accomplished by 
moderate charges C/S to 44 lb.) of No. 2 dynamite at a sufficient depth (3 to 
S ft.). The shattering effect of the explosure will be sensible to a depth of 
eight feet or more, and will fissure the clay or hardpan to a corresponding 
extent sidewise. Tf properly proportioned the charge will hardly disturb the 
surface; but if this be desired, from 1^' to 2^2 pounds of black powder placed 
above the dynamite will throw out sufficient earth to plant the tree without 
further digging. Where labor is high priced this proves_ the cheapest as well 
as the best way to prepare such ground for tree planting, and it has often 
been found that in course of time the loosening begun by the powder has 
extended through the mass of the land so as to permit the roots to utilize it 
fully and even to permit, in after years, of the planting of field crops where 
formerly they would not succeed. 

The boring for such blasting is usually with an ordinary carpen- 
ter's auger, a little larger than the diameter of the cartridge to be 
used ; the shank of the auger being lengthened by the blacksmith to 
reach the depth desired. 

It is becoming more and more apparent, however, that for 
commercial plantings of trees and vines all such defective soils 
should be avoided. There is plenty of good, deep land to be had, 
and the burden of ameliorating poor land is a serious handicap in 
the competition which has brought production to very narrow 
margins of profit. 

Digging the Holes. — Holes for tree planting may be dug at a 
leisure time after the laying off of the field, even though it is not 
designed to plant the trees immediately, but our largest planters 



DEVICES FOR SETTING TREES 107 

do not approve the practice. In such cases the sides of the holes 
should always be freshly pared off before the trees are put in, 
because the rain and sunshine are apt to cement the sides. In 
dig'ging holes the surface earth should always be thrown on one 
side and the lower soil on another. The object of this is to have 
the top soil to place in direct contact with the roots when the tree 
is planted, the lower soil being used to fill up the hole with. 

TREE SETTERS 

No matter how carefully the stakes are placed in laying ofif the 
orchard, the trees will not easily come in line unless some handy 
device is used for bringing the stem just in the place occupied by 
the stake which was thrown out in digging. These devices are 
called "tree-setters," and there are a number of designs. Two are 
given, either of which will give good results. Take a piece of board 
one inch thick, four inches wide, and five feet long; bore an inch 
hole in the center, and one at each end at equal distance from the 
center; then cut a piece fmni one side of the board, marked by a 



E 



y\. 



Bar for Tree Setting. 

square, the corner resting in the middle of the center hole. Make 
two stakes, each one foot long, that will easily pass through the 
end holes. Place the center of this board against the stake, where 
the tree is to be planted ; push the stakes into the ground through 
the holes in the ends, then lift the board from position and proceed 
to dig the hole. When dug, replace the board over the end stakes 
in its former position, then plant the tree with its trunk resting 
against the center notch in the board, and you have it in just the 
right place. 

Another setter is in the form of a triangle : Take three pieces 
of plain one-inch stuflf three to four inches wide and four feet long, 
and nail them together, forming a three-cornered frame, letting the 
ends project sufficiently to form a corner, as shown in the drawing. 
Next make a couple of smooth, hard stakes, well sharpened, and 
about a foot or sixteen inches in length. When you are ready to 
set your trees, place the frame flat upon the ground with one corner 
firmly and fairly against the stake which marks the place where the 
tree is to stand. Now in the other two corners stick the stakes 
already prepared for the purpose. This done, pull up the stake 
against which the frame was first placed — the one indicating a place 
for a tree — remove the frame, being careful in doing so not to move 
the other two stakes, which must be left to be used while setting 



108 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the tree. After the hole is dug and everything ready for setting the 
tree, again place the frame against the two standing stakes, let the 
tree drop into the other corner, which will help support it while the 
dirt is being placed about the roots ; and this will bring the tree 
exactly where the stake was originally. If the stakes are properly 
put in line, so will be the trees. 

These setters are described as they are used when the hole is 
dug and the tree set at the same time. Such is the ordinary practice 
in planting. If one wishes to dig the holes beforehand, it is neces- 
sary to furnish more stakes, as two have to be left beside each hole 
to mark the position of the setter when the planting is done. 
Besides its use in bringing a tree into line, the tree setter enables 




Triangular tree setter. 



one to judge of the depth of setting as compared with the surface 
of the surrounding ground. It is not easy to determine this with 
the eye if the hole be a large one. Where the measuring wire is 
used to set the stakes, it is sometimes stretched across again after 
the holes are dug, the tags on the wire thus indicating the places 
for the trees of the whole row. The trouble with this practice is the 
bother of having the wire in the way while filling and tramping the 
earth around the roots. 

SELECTING TREES 

In the purchase of trees it is well to patronize nurserymen in 
your own district, providing they are honest and intelligent men, 
who keep themselves informed as they should about their business. 
The advice of such a local nurseryman is often of great value to the 
newcomer, for he will know by his experience and observation much 
about the adaptations of fruits and varieties thereof to the region. 
If, for any reason, local nurseries do not meet your needs, seek 
some well-established nursery at a distance. It is much safer to 
deal directly with the grower of the trees than to patronize traveling 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG TREES 109 

agents. Where, however, these agents are the accredited repre- 
sentatives of well-known establishments, they may save the planter 
time and trouble by taking his order for him. So-called "tree- 
peddlers," who are jobbers in trees and in too many cases send you 
refuse trees which they pick up cheap wherever they can, and label 
them to suit, without respect to truth or honesty, should be reso- 
lutely avoided, no matter what inducements or blandishments they 
may offer. 

The California legislature of 1907 passed a law making it unlaw- 
ful to sell fruit trees representing them to be a certain kind and 
afterwards to deliver trees of a different kind. To do this is a 
misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment. Action may be 
begun at any time within seven years after the date of delivery of 
such trees.* 

It is desirable, if possible, to visit the nursery and see the stock 
which is to be furnished. The trees should have a good healthy 
look, with clean bark, and of size enough to indicate a good, free 
growth. The matter of size is not the only point to consider, for 
size of the top is not so desirable as well-matured wood and plenty 
of roots. On the other hand, stunted trees are not, as a rule, worth 
planting, for a stunted tree, like a stunted calf, often does not make 
a good after-growth. There are cases, however, in which, by extra 
cultivation in good soil, fine trees have been grown even from 
"culls" from the nursery. The best rule is to select trees of good 
medium size, straight and healthy. In judging size, however, one 
must take California and not Eastern standards, because our nursery 
stock, if well grown, invariably is of much greater size than Eastern. 
If the visit is during the digging season, ask to see samples of the 
roots as well as the tops, and do not purchase trees unless the roots 
are healthy looking and free from knots or excresences. Gnarly 
and knotty roots in the young tree are a sure sign of insect pests or 
of unhealthy growth, and planting such trees has occasioned our 
orchardists immense loss. Many have been led into purchasing poor 
trees because they may be had cheap. A tree selected merely because 
it is cheap may prove the most expensive thing a man can put in the 
ground. 

Guarding Against Insects.— The top of the tree should be care- 
fully examined to discover scale insects if there be any. For this 
purpose a hand-magnifier should be used. Such a glass should 
always be in the fruit grower's pocket. One can be bought at any 
optician's for a dollar or two, which will fold into its case so as to 
be carried without scratching. Our nurserymen, by forsaking old 
infested locations and obtaining new ground, now sell much cleaner 
trees than they did years ago. But still it is well to be always on 

* Statutes and amendments to the Codes, 1907; chapter 229. 



110 (ALIFORM. \ l-RUnS: HOW TO CKOW TIIRM 

the watch for pests. Disinfection of nursery stock is now ofilicially 
provided. Details of treatment will be given in the chapter on 
injurious insects. 

TAKING TREES FRO^I THE NURSERY 

Trees should be carefully taken from the nursery rows so as to 
obtain a good amount of small branching roots. In lifting from the 
home nursery, digging with well-sharpened spades, which will sever 
the long roots cleanly, is perhaps the best method. In the large 
nurseries tree-diggers are generally used. They have two revolving 
coulters which cut through the surface soil each side of the trees, 
and a sharp, curved blade, which is drawn through the ground under 
the trees, loosening the soil and severing the long roots cleanly. 
The tree is then easily lifted, and has generally a much better root 
system than by the old style of "ploughing out," which broke off 
so many of the small roots and lacerated the larger ones. Whether 
the tap root should be retained or not is not worth discussing on 
theoretical grounds. As a matter of fact and practice, the tap root 
cuts no figure at all in California orchard planting, although the 
discussion of the question was formerly very warm in this State, 
and is still occasionally heard. It is important, however, that the 
planter should have as many small lateral roots as he can get. The 
small fibrous roots are usually of little account, as they seldom 
survive transplanting, and it is better to clip them away, if the time 
can be afforded, as they often prevent the proper close contact of 
the soil with the larger roots. Cutting back all roots to short stubs 
at the base of the stem has succeeded in some instances in California 
on moist lowlands, but longer roots are far safer in the deep drying 
of the surface layer which is to be expected in this State. 

The roots, after lifting, should not be permitted to dry. Hence, 
in hauling from the nursery to the farm, the trees should be well 
covered with wet straw and old sacks, or, if shipped from the 
nursery to distant points, should be well packed. The best way to 
pack trees is, undoubtedly, to box them in with wet straw, but it 
costs less and they usually carry well considerable distances if 
carefully bundled with tules (dry reed stems), the roots packed in 
wet straw, and the packing and covering bound down tight with 
ropes to prevent drying out. 

Attention should be paid to hauling away trees from the railway 
stations as soon as possible after arrival. It is not uncommon for 
shipments to lie on the station platforms for days, often when a 
desiccating north wind is blowing. Such treatment soon takes the 
life out of the rootlets, and often, no doubt, the nurseryman is 
blamed for failure of trees which have suffered some such neglect 
as this, either from transportation companies or from the pur- 
chasers. 



CONDITIONS FOR PLANTING 111 

Heeling In. — On arrival at the farms, trees should be "heeled in" 
as soon as possible ; even if it is the intention to plant at once, heel 
them in just the same, for delays arise often in the most unexpected 
manner. To heel in, dig a trench or plow a deep furrow, or a double 
furrow, in light, moist, but well-drained soil ; put in the trees singly 
side by side, removing all the packing material carefully from the 
roots, laying the tops all one way, and then shovel the earth over 
the roots until they are well covered with loose soil, and be sure 
that the soil sifts down well between the roots. Ordinarily this 
treatment will hold the trees in good condition for a considerable 
time if need be. If, however, they have become dry before arrival, 
the bundles should be thoroughly drenched with water before 
heeling in. In extreme cases, where the top shows drying by 
shrinking and shriveling of the bark, the trees should be drenched, 
and then they should be covered root and top with earth for two 
or three days, when, if the trouble has not gone too far, the bark 
will recover its smoothness and plumpness. It should be very 
seldom, however, that a lot of trees is allowed to get into such 
condition by neglect. In heeling in it will be found a great con- 
venience and a safeguard against possible confusion by loss of 
labels, if each variety as taken from the packing is placed by itself 
in the trench. Nurserymen generally attach a label to each small 
bundle, if the trees are of several varieties, and the novice is apt to 
lose all track of his sorts when heeling in the trench, unless he heels 
in each kind by itself, leaving the nurseryman's label to mark the 
whole lot of each kind. 

If the planter has his own ideas of after-treatment of his trees, 
or if he is a beginner and desires to adopt the suggestions which 
will be laid down in this book, he should insist that the nurseryman 
shall not trim up nor cut back the trees before packing. Have the 
trees packed just as they are lifted from the ground. The work 
toward the shaping of the tree should be done after it is planted in 
the orchard. 

PLANTING THE ORCHARD 

The young deciduous tree should be dormant before being moved 
from the nursery row, and if its leaves have fallen it is good evidence 
of its dormancy. Such, however, is the effect of the climate of 
California, more apparent in some years than others, and with some 
kinds of fruit than others, and the young tree retains a small part 
of its activity very late, and in such cases it is not practicable to 
wait for the complete falling of the leaves. Sometimes for con- 
venience of work, the trees have to be lifted before this takes place, 
and in such case it is desirable to remove the leaves to lessen 
evaporation. It is probably better to transplant in this condition 



112 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 

for the sake of early setting in its new position than to wait for all 
the leaves to drop. This statement is not intended to include 
nursery stock which is kept growing late in the season by late 
irrigation. Such trees are not always desirable. 

Time to Plant. — The best time to plant deciduous trees in Cali- 
fornia is soon after the early rains have deeply moistened the 
ground. It is not desirable, however, to have a stratum of dry 
earth below. This can be removed by irrigation when available. 
Early planting of common orchard fruits is of advantage for several 
reasons. First, an early-planted tree gets the full benefit of the 
season's rainfall, whatever it may be, and a late-planted tree, in a 
year with short rainfall, is apt to suffer during its first season's 
growth, unless it can be irrigated. The two main things to observe 
are the dormancy of the tree and the proper condition of the soil 
and both of these are most apt to coincide in many parts of Cali- 
fornia about the first of January, but in heavy loams in region of 
large rainfall, the soil may then be too cold and wet. There will, 
however, be some variation from year to year, and different parts 
of the State disagree as to the date. Hence, the general rule must 
be based on conditions, that of the tree and that of the soil. If the 
novice cannot judge these for himself, he must get the advice of 
some one of experience in the locality. 

The dormant period of a tree in California, as has been stated 
in another connection, is very short. As many cold-climate annual 
plants become perennial here, so our deciduous trees, in compara- 
tively frostless portions of the State, evince a tendency to become 
evergreen. The period of dormancy in the root is also shorter than 
the inactivity of the top. Trees transplanted early are found to 
have their root wounds calloused over and new rootlets considerably 
advanced before the buds swell. Therefore, by early planting the 
tree begins soon to take hold upon the soil, the latter being well 
settled around it by rains, which often follow early planting, and 
the high winds, which are apt to come in the spring in some parts 
of the State, find the tree well anchored and ready to maintain 
itself. 

Again, the proper condition of soil, if not seized at its first 
coming, may not recur until after the great storms of the winter are 
over, say in February or March (in most parts of the State), and 
then often the buds are bursting into bloom and leaf. Planting 
when the soil is water-soaked and cold is very undesirable, for in 
such condition it cannot be properly disposed about the roots, the 
inactive roots may begin to decay, and trees moved at this period 
are apt to show their dislike of the treatment. If the work has been 
delayed unavoidably, so that early planting cannot be done, it is 
better to keep the trees heeled in until the proper soil condition 



SUGGESTIONS ABOUT PLANTING 113 

returns, even if it be rather late, for a little extra attention to 
cult'vation for retention of moisture will pull through a latc-plantcd 
tree. 

These remarks arc of very wide application in this State, but 
there are exceptions. In our high altitudes, where the climate 
approaches Eastern conditions in cold and snowfall, practice in 
planting will also approximate Eastern methods. In regions of 
very heavy rainfall and on the upper coast where the rainy season 
and moisture from fogs are prolonged late in the spring, late 
planting is safer and surer than in the warmer, drier parts of the 
State. 

Another consideration, too, is the slope of the land to be planted, 
Our hillside fruit growers in regions of heavy winter storms some- 
times plant slopes, which, if plowed deep in the fall, are apt to wash 
badly during the heavy winter rains. On such slopes it is better to 
plow late in the winter, after the heavy storms are over, and plant 
when the soil has become warm and mellow. 

THE OPERATION OF PLANTING 

Tree planting should be carefully and well done, but it need not 
necessarily be slowly done. With a kind soil deeply worked and 
just in the right condition for planting, trees may be put in well and 
rapidly. Two men work together at a decided advantage. Using 
the straight "tree-setter," which has already been described, one 
takes each end, and as soon as the center notch encloses the tree 
stake, the setter stakes are pushed into the soil, the "setter" is laid 
aside, and the two men, taking up their shovels or spades, begin 
first around the outside of the hole, throwing all the surface dirt 
on the same side of the hole and leaving the tree stake to be thrown 
out last, because its remaining serves to center the hole. The lower 
soil is now thrown to the other side of the hole, and when depth 
enough is reached, the soil at the bottom of the hole is loosened 
up to the depth of a shovel thrust, without removing it from the 
hole. A shovelful or two of the surface soil is thrown into the 
center of the hole, being allowed to remain higher in the center, 
because this generally furnishes a cushion about the natural shape 
of the under surface of the root system of the tree. Now replace 
the tree-setter upon its end pegs, let one man hold the tree with 
its stem in the central notch in the setter, and while the other man 
shovels in the surface earth rather slowly at first, the man who 
holds the tree with one hand will spread out the roots, pulverize 
and pack the earth around them, being sure that no cavities are left 
under any of the roots, but that their surfaces everywhere come 
in contact with the soil, and that they spread out as widely as 
possible. The earth is being continuously put in by the shoveler, 



114 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and when the roots are covered the i)lanter steps in the hole and 
carefully firms the soil down upon the roots hy tramping (especially 
at the cut ends of the roots around the outer side of the hole), at 
the same time judging of the perpendicularity of the tree with his 
eye. When this is done, both men use their shovels and fill up the 
hole with the earth taken from below, being sure to leave the last 
few inches at the surface pulverized, but untramped, unless the soil 
be very light so that tramping will not overpack it. Some one 
said long ago that one should not plant a tree as he does a post 
ramming down the earth to the very top of the hole. Many trees 
are doubtless ruined by over zeal in this respect. 

The shovel has been mentioned frequently as the tool to be used 
in planting. Where the soil is deeply plowed, well worked, and 
free from stone, the shovel is the most rapid tool. Under other 
conditions the long-handled spade, and in some cases the long- 
handled spading fork, serves admirably in loosening the soil at the 
bottom of the holes and in breaking up lumps while filling in. One 
man with a shovel or spade, and the other with the fork, make a 
good combination in this respect. 

Planting in a Furrow. — A practice which has been largely fol- 
lowed in the Sacramento Valley and which attains greatest speed 
and cheapness consists in laying off as described on page ninety- 
eight, and then proceeding with a heavy listing plow, followed by 
a subsoil plow in the same furrow. The trees are then rapidly set 
with the least digging. This is all done before the field is plowed. 
Plowing immediately follows planting. The advantages of this 
method are ease of work on firm ground instead of a plow^ed sur- 
face, and escape of injury to this surface by men and teams in plant- 
ing after plowing. 

RANDOM SUGGESTIONS 

The roots of every tree should be examined before planting. All 
large root ends should have a fresh, clean cut with a sharp knife or 
shears. Make a slanting cut with the cut surface on the underside 
of the root. Where a root is mangled or bruised, it should in most 
cases be cut back to a sound place. 

The tree should be placed if possible with the same side toward 
the sun as was exposed to the sun in the nursery; at all events, the 
wound made by the cutting away of the seedling stock above the bud 
should be at the north or northeast, in order that this weak point may 
be shaded as much as possible from the afternoon sun. 

If the roots of the young tree grow more to one side than the other, 
place the strongest roots toward the prevailing wind. 

The use of water to settle the earth around the roots is sometimes 
desirable in sections where the rainfall is light or uncertain. Pour in 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG ORCHARD 1 15 

the water after the hand work in spreachng- tht roots and in pressing 
the soil under and around them has been done and the hole partly filled. 
When the water has soaked away, fill the hole with fine earth without 
tramping. In irrigated districts leading the water along the line of 
trees in a furrow to settle the ground at planting is a good practice. 
It is almost essential in the planting of evergreen trees which are best 
moved during the dry season. In early planting in parts of the State 
where the rainfall is abundant, there may be no need of water-settling; 
Puddling the roots, or dipping them in thin mud and planting them 
with this mud adhering, is governed by much the same conditions as 
water-settling; it may insure growth of the tree when otherwise it 
might be seriously injured by drouth. With puddled roots especial 
care should also be taken to leave the surface loose to prevent evap- 
oration. In making puddle, use loamy soil and never adobe, for in 
dry time the latter will bake around the roots and may kill the tree. 

The Use of Manure. — Never put manure in the hole with the 
tree. Sometimes the injunction is. Never put anything but well rotted 
manure in the hole. It is better to put none of any kind. Manure 
should be spread upon the ground after planting. The rains then leach 
it out and it may be turned under in the spring plowing. There are, 
however, light soils in the drier parts of the State where turning under 
manure in the spring is a disadvantage, as it makes the soil too porous 
and facilitates evaporation. On such soils, extra care should be taken 
to have the manure thoroughly decomposed by composting, as will 
be described in the chapter on fertilizers, and all applications should be 
made either late in the spring to act as a mulch in the summer, or if a 
mulch is not thought desirable, apply the manure in the fall before the 
first rains, so that it may be turned under at the first plowing and have 
the whole winter for disintegration. In this dry climate there is often 
misapprehension, especially among newcomers, as to what is well- 
rotted manure. They take the scrapings of the corral, which have l)een 
trampled and pulverized, but which, having been kept dry, have never 
rotted. When this is put in the. holes with the tree and then moistened 
by rainfall or irrigation, it will burn the tree, the first sign of injury 
being the drying up of the leaves. It is, on the whole, safest and best 
to put nothing but well-pulverized surface soil around the roots of the 
young tree. 

Depth of Planting. — The depth to which trees should be set has 

always been a matter of discord among the planters. The safest rule 
under ordinary circumstances is to get the tree as nearly as possible 
the same depth it stood in the nursery row ; that is, so as to have it 
stand that way when the ground has settled, or the surface returned by 
cultivation to its normal level. In planting in loose soil in the drier 
parts of the State, it is often desirable to plant rather low, because 
several inches depth of the surface soil become dry, and the roots 



116 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

should be well in the moist la)'er. But if irrigation is to be practised, 
it must be remembered that the water level will rise when the soil is 
saturated and deep-planted trees are apt to suffer. The experience of 
recent years is decidedly against deep planting, which used to be ad- 
vised because of our dry climate. Thousands of trees have been ruined 
by planting too deep except in light sandy soil. 

Speed in Planting. — On good soil, well prepared, trees can be 
put in rapidly and the job still be well done. It is reported that on one 
occasion, in planting almonds, twenty men finished sixty-four acres 
from Friday noon to Wednesday night, placing the stakes, digging the 
holes, and planting the trees. This would be almost three-quarters of 
an acre per day per man. In planting peaches and apricots an average 
of one hundred trees per day to the man has been attained. On the 
mellow loam, in another case, the average was one hundred and twen- 
ty-five trees to the man, digging holes two feet square in land which 
had been plowed twelve inches deep. Such work is only possible on 
good soil, well prepared, and by men who work well together. 

Mapping and Labeling. — Where mixed varieties of fruit are 
planted, the orchard should be mapped as soon as the trees are set. A 
good durable map is made of the glazed muslin, such as carpenters and 
architects use for their drawings. The map can be easily drawn to a 
scale by using a fraction of an inch to represent a foot. After the map 
is made, it can be rolled on a broom stick and easily preserved. With 
such a record, the grower need not care what becomes of the labels, 
as he can locate a variety at any time by its row and tree number. If, 
however, one desires labels, let them be made in this way : Take a 
piece of common sheet zinc five inches wide. Across this, cut pieces 
three-quarters of an inch wide at one end and tapering to a point at the 
other. Near the wider end write plainly with a common lead-pencil the 
name of the variety. This will get brighter by exposure to the weather. 
The small end may be coiled around the branch of the tree ; it will 
yield as the tree grows and will do no ijijury. Such labels will last for 
a long time. Labels attached by a cord or wire should be removed as 
soon as the trees are set, for they are apt to be forgotton and the tree 
seriously injured by the cutting in of the ligature. Even when labels 
are used the map is the only surety, because any kind of a label is apt 
to be lost by accident or through malice or mischief of intruders. 

Mulching. — Although early planted trees on deep soils in re- 
gions of sufficient rainfall need only good cultivation, after planting, 
there are cases in which mulching is desirable. Various light mate- 
rials may be used for a mulch, but nothing is better than well-rotted 
straw, in which fermentation has killed all weed seed. Apply it to a 
distance of two feet around the tree, and to a depth of not less than six 
inches. It is best done as soon as the tree is planted, and is to be 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG ORCHARD 117 

especially recommended when late planting is practiced. Even in lo- 
calities of light rainfall, if the trees are well mulched early in the win- 
ter, irrigation may be unnecessary for the young deciduous tree. Trees 
planted very late in the spring may, by using great care and mulching 
well, make as great a growth as those set out early in winter. This 
should not be an excuse for late planting, but where late planting is 
necessary, mulching will help the trees to pull through. It is a far 
easier way of keeping the ground moist than by irrigating, but is not 
a substitute for it where systematic irrigation is necessary, though irri- 
gation may often be lessened, and in some cases obviated, by extra cul- 
tivation or mulching, at least until the trees come into bearing. 

Guarding Against Sunburn, — Newly-set trees should be pro- 
tected against sunburn. This can be easily done by winding strips 
of burlap from old grain sacks spirally around the stems beginning 
just below the ground surface to the points where the young shoots 
will appear. When these start the strip can be loosened and rewound 
so as to protect the bark between the shoots. The top can be fastened 
with a stitch or two with a twine needle. Manufactured "tree pro- 
tectors" of paper or rushes which are readily adjusted around the trees 
are now largely sold. Whitewash made according to the formula at 
the close of Chapter IX is a good protection from sunburn. For 
young trees, however, it should be made with air-slacked lime, which 
has lost some of its causticity. Another whitewash, which has been 
largely used for young trees, consists of four ounces of whale oil soap 
dissolved in each gallon of water, Spanish whiting being stirred in to 
give the solution a paint-like consistency. Millions of trees have per- 
ished in this State, and as many more been condemned to sickly lives, 
because of sunburn, and borers which seek the injured bark for en- 
trance. Pruning has much to do with saving trees from this evil, as 
will be shown in the proper connection, but in the hotter parts of the 
State, the first precaution should be to shade the bark of the young 
tree with some artificial protection. 

Cutting Back at Planting. — Whatever idea the grower may have 
as to shaping his tree, it must be cut back when planted. Lifting from 
the nursery has removed a considerable part of the root system of the 
young tree and the top must be reduced accordingly. The planter who 
dislikes to sacrifice the fine top will sacrifice future growth and vigor 
by retaining it. The tree may struggle through and regain strength, 
but it will for years be smaller than if it had been properly cut back 
at planting. If the moisture supply should be short the tree may die 
the first summer which would have survived if dififerently treated at 
planting. The manner of cutting back depends somewhat upon the 
style of pruning to be followed afterward, as will be considered in the 
next chapter. 



CHAPTER XII 
PRUNING TREES AND THINNING FRUIT 

It is not intended to enter into a discussion of the general theories 
of pruning. The reader desiring to pursue them is referred to the 
abundant literature on the subject in Eastern and European treat- 
ises. The effort to approve or condemn these theories by consid- 
ering them in the light of California experience and observation 
might lead to interesting conclusions, but it has no place in a work 
aiming merely at an exposition of what appears to be the most sat- 
isfactory practice in California fruit growing. It will be found that 
this practice varies somewhat in the different regions of California, 
sometimes in degree, sometimes in kind, because of different local 
conditions, and it might be found that nearly all reasonable theories 
of pruning could be verified in California experience. 

Pruning in California is at present almost exclusively a shaping 
process. Our fruit trees are naturally so prone to bear fruit that 
pruning to produce fruitfulness is seldom thought of, and still more 
rarely practiced, while pruning to reduce bearing wood, and thus 
decrease the burden of the tree, is quite widely done, to take the 
place, in part, of thinning out the fruit. Pruning to restore vigor to 
the tree, as in cutting it back to induce a new wood growth, is also 
rather a rare proceeding, but probably could be much more widely 
employed to advantage. We prune, then, for shape and for the 
many practical advantages which adhere in the form now prevailing 
in California orchards. Some of these advantages are peculiar to our 
climate ; others we share with those who advocate a similar form 
elsewhere. 

Our best orchards of the same fruits in adjacent localities are 
almost identical in form and general appearance of the trees, and 
those more distant differ chiefly in the extent to which the same 
principles are applied. And this is not because the trees are allowed 
to follow their natural inclination, which should secure resemblance 
but because their natural bent is resolutely conquered by agreement 
of growers that they know what is good for the tree ; and this sub- 
stantial unanimity is the result of the experience of the last fifty-five 
years. People possessed of the art temperament sometimes com- 
plain of the depressing uniformity and artificiality of orchard-tree 
shapes in California. They are apt to lament the fact that syste- 
matic orcharding destroys the picturesqueness of tree-growth. They 
should understand that such conception of a fruit tree has no place 
in commercial fruit growing. The producing tree is the result of 
the concei)tion of an agency to serve certain purposes. The or- 

U8 



ADVANTAGES OF PRUNING 119 

chai'cHst does not pursue uniformity merely for its own sake, but 
rather for the purpose it serves, and the fact that many thinking 
men have practically agreed upon a certain form as an ideal of pro- 
ducing ability is demonstration that such form is, at least, approxi- 
mately correct. There is an industrial conception of a tree, which 
is necessarily and essentially different from an art conception of 
picturesqueness based upon the feral type. The wild tree is rude 
and crude from a cultural point of view. 

PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF PRUNING 

One of the first things for a beginner to undertake as he 
approaches the practice of pruning trees and vines is to form a good 
idea of the purposes to be served. Imitation is not the foundation 
of intelligent pruning, though it yields many valuable suggestions. 
Satisfactory work rests upon a correct understanding of the reasons 
for each act and to the attainment of this, all study, observation and 
experience should tend. Possessing this, one can proceed capably, 
modifying method to meet condition, and producing desirable 
results. Receive all suggestions and then go quietly to the tree and 
study your problem in its shade. The tree is the best revelator of 
its needs. Some of the best pruners in California are men who were 
untrained to horticulture before they entered upon their orchard 
work. Reading, discussion, systematic instruction are all valuable. 
They save much time and many errors, but recourse to the tree afTords 
the sovereign test of attainment. 

These may be counted among the practical purposes to be 
attained by pruning in California: (a) Convenience of the grower; 
(b) health and strength of the tree; (c) regulation of heat and 
light; (d) attainment of strong bearing wood; (e) attainment of 
size in fruit ; (f) promotion of regular bearing. Examine trees with 
reference to their embodiment of these characters and one can 
hardly fail to secure rays of light upon the subject of pruning 
which seems dark to so many. 

Convenience. — Trees which branch near the ground are most 
quickly and cheaply handled in all the operations of pruning, spray- 
ing, fruit-thinning and picking. Low trees with obliquely-rising 
branches are more easily cultivated than any form with horizontal 
branches, unless the head is carried so high that the animals pass 
easily under the tree. To do this sacrifices all the other conven- 
iences and economies which actually determine profit, and is really 
out of the question from a commercial point of view. Sometimes it 
does not pay to ])ick some fruits at a certain .distance above the 
groimd, when ])icking at half that distance yields a profit. 



120 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Health and Strength. — It is imperative in most parts of this 
State that the sunshine be not allowed to touch the bark during- the 
heat of the day. This protection is secured even for young trees by 
low branching and encouragement of small, low laterals. The low 
tree with properly spaced branches attains superior strength by vir- 
tue of thick, strongly knit, short growth between branches, and by 
its strong, stiff, obliquely-rising growth sustains weight which 
brings horizontal branches to the ground, and thus even high- 
headed trees are liable to continually increasing interference with 
cultivation, and the desperate grower has to raise the head of his 
tree higher into the air and farther above the profit line, while at 
the same time he renders it more liable to sunburn, to bark-binding, 
and to unthrift by forcing the sap to flow an unnecessary distance 
and through wood and bark which impede its movement. Besides 
a low tree escapes stress by strong winds which a high tree invites 
and at the same time is less able to withstand. Pruning for health 
and strength of tree also includes the removal of unthrifty or 
diseased parts, which are not only an incumbrance to the tree but 
may communicate to other parts the causes of their ill condition. 

Heat and Light. — The maintenance of strong bearing wood in 
the lower part of the tree is conditioned upon the proper pruning 
of the top of the tree. How far the upper levels or the shade-layer 
of the tree can be safely opened, depends upon the local climate in 
each fruit region. The rule must be the higher the summer heat 
the denser the tree; the lower the heat the thinner the tree; but 
everywhere the proper condition of openness must be constantly 
in view in pruning. Not alone must this be done to maintain thrifty 
growth below, but it is also essential to the best growth and ripen- 
ing of the fruit in the lower and interior parts of the tree. Fruit in- 
ferior in size, color and quality results, in part, from lack of pruning 
to regulate the admission of light and heat, sometimes one, some- 
times both, to the shaded portion of the tree. 

Bearing Wood. — Good fruit develops on good bearing wood 
and good bearing wood is the product of proper degrees of light and 
heat, as has just been urged. But bearing wood in the case of some 
fruits is new wood, and reduction of old wood for the purpose of 
forcing the growth of new wood must be constantly in mind. Re- 
newal is more or less a consideration with all trees, and especially 
the securing of strong new wood. This is a point upon which close 
study of the bearing tree will yield most satisfactory suggestions. 

Size of Fruit. — The size of fruit, providing the tree is healthy 
and vigorous, depends upon the character and amount of bearing 
wood which the tree is allowed to carry. Removal of part of the 
fruit burden is done by thinning after it is well set, but this labor 



THE POPITLAR CALIFORNIA FORM 121 

should al\va3^s he iiiinimized l)y anlccedenl pruning-, which aims to 
retain more or less bearing wood according- to the vigor, size and 
bearing habit of the tree. Thinning out of bearing shoots and spurs, 
when either are clearly seen to be in excess, should be the constant 
study of the pruner. 

Regular Bearing. — This point is largely involved in the preced- 
ing and affords an additional incentive. Regulating the amount 
of fruit borne in one year may involve the profit of two years, be- 
cause a tree may not be able to produce an excessive amount of 
fruit and perfect good fruit buds for the following year. It may 
generally make buds which will bloom, but not always that. If it 
does make the bloom, it is no guaranty that the bloom will be 
strong and effective for bearing. Consequently, pruning for rea- 
sonable amount of bearing should always be borne in view and 
should be practiced at the close of the year of non-bearing with 
particular diligence, if the alternate year- bearing habit is to be 
broken up. 

The foregoing are among the practical purposes to be served in 
pruning. There are others, but these will suffice to emphasize a 
single point, and that is, that pruning can not be compressed into a 
single formula, nor can one learn it by a recipe. There are various 
ends to attain ; they may be attained in different ways, although it 
is not strange that substantial agreement in methods does largely 
prevail. It is better to try to understand the purposes than to mem- 
orize the formulae. Get the tree and its interest clearly in the mind ; 
have an ideal toward which to work; be more interested in why a 
neighbor prunes in a certain way than how he does it. Learn con- 
stantly by all available means, and at the same time study the visi- 
ble forms and aim to understand their fullest significance. 



FORM OF TREE BEST SUITED TO CALIFORNIA 
CONDITIONS 

The form of deciduous fruit tree which prevails with singular 
uniformity all over the State is the "vase," or "goblet," or "wine- 
glass" form, all these terms signifying a similar shape. There are 
different ways in which this form is secured and maintained in 
different parts of the State, and with different fruits, which will be 
especially noted in the chapters devoted to these fruits. 

The mainspring of success in California is to grow low trees. 
Low is a term admitting of degrees, it is true, and may imply a 
trunk six inches up to one or two feet, in the clear. In addition to 
the general advantages of low-trained trees which have been 
described, there are special reasons for this form in California. 



122 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Hundreds of thousands of frees have been dcslro3^ed by the expos- 
ure of a long, bare trunk to the rays of the afternoon sun. The 
sun-burned sides have given the conditions desired by borers, and 
destruction has quickly followed. Sometimes young trees have not 
survived their first season in the orchard, because of burned bark; 
or this, with the added injury by the borers. It is also found by Cali- 
fornia experience that growth is more vigorous in the branches 
when they emerge near the ground. Even where actual burning 
may not occur the travel of the sap through the longer distance of 
trunk is undesirable. It is believed, also, that benefit results from 
shading of the ground at the base of the trees, by reducing evaporation, 
and by maintaining a temperature of soil better suited to vigorous root- 
growth. 

But whatever may be the reasons, the fact is indisputable, the 
higher the prevailing summer temperature, and the greater the 
aridity, the lower should the 'rees be headed. Trees which will do 
well in the central and upper coast region and adjacent to the bay 
of San Francisco, with twenty-four to thirty-six inches of clear 
trunk, would dwindle and probably perish in the heated valleys in 
all parts of the State. In such situations, both north and south, the 
best practice is to head the tree fifteen, twelve, and even some hold 
as low as six inches from the ground. There will always be some 
difference of opinion as to detail, but the necessity of making the 
trunk short enough to be effectually shaded by the foliage is ad- 
mitted by all growers. 

Characteristic of the California Vase Form. — This vase form is 
a product of French ingenuity in the training of dwarf trees, but it 
has undergone very marked modification in California, losing much 
of the accuracy of its outline and gaining vastly in speed of work 
and in bearing capacity of tree without sacrificing any practical 
value which adheres in the design. 

The California vase form dispenses with the central stem or 
trunk at a certain short distance above the ground, but this is not 
done for the purpose of securing a hollow or open-center tree, 
which is a leading characteristic of the old European vase form. The 
few branches which are desired to grow from the short stem are 
pruned when the tree is young to induce successive branching with 
short interspaces. At each cutting the aim is to get two branches 
from one, and nearly as possible of equal vigor, so the California 
tree does not, except, of course, in occasional instances, show the 
outline of a leader from the bottom to the top, but there is a succes- 
sion of branchings, turned this way or that by the skillful pruner, 
occupying available air space, distributing the weight so it comes 
more nearly over the center of gravity and at the same time knitting 
the fibers of the branch so that the weight of the fruit is well 



TI[r-: EFFECTS OF PRUNING 



.23 



sustained. This idea, however, is not allowed to go so far as to 
wholly close the interior of the tree, but to retain such degree of 
open interior as is found desirable. When the tree is laden with 
fruit, the weight naturally expands the top quite enough to admit 
the sunlight without exposing either the fruit or the branches to 
danger of burning. Thus it appears that instead of the true vase or 
wine-glass, with hollow interior and thin walls, we have the general 
exterior outline of this model, but give a good part of the central 
area of the figure to bearing shoots, and thus secure a large bear- 
ing surface with well-strengthened supports. 

It has been found that this many-branching form, developed 
upon a few main branches well placed upon the trunk, gives a 
stronger tree than can be had by growing a considerable number of 
leaders, all starting from near the point where the tree was headed 
at planting. Such leaders crowd each 9ther at the point of emer- 
gence from the stem, and when laden with fruit, sway outward and 
break out at this point. A vastly stronger tree is secured by start- 
ing but four or five branches from the low trunk and letting them 
emerge from dififerent sides of the stem, and at different levels. 
Thus each main attachment to the stem has abundant room, and the 
wood enlarges symmetrically and solidly. The expansion of the top 
is attained by the branching which follows the cutting back of suc- 
ceeding years. Starting branches from nearly the same level on the 
stem has been the occasion of great losses of overladen trees, and 
quite a considerable recourse to strengthening up weak trees by 




>*aj^ 




Forms of head resulting from cutting back. 

Twelve-year-old apple tree in the writer's garden in Berkeley, showing forms of head re- 
sulting from cutting back for greater and less spacing of main branches at planting. 



24 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THES 



M 






Results of cutting back to longer and shorter stems. 



THE EFFECTS OF TRUNING 



125 



running bolts through from side to side at the points where experi- 
ence shows breakage is likely to occur. In this respect it is now 
clearly seen that the practice which was widely adopted a few years 
ago of beginning with a very short stem and using the three or four 
adjacent buds nearest the point to which the tree was cut back at 
planting is defective. It is much better not to cut back so far at 
planting, but to leave a longer trunk, keep a greater distance be- 
tween the main branches and still have the lowest branch as near 
the ground as before, thus securing a tree which is practically as 
low as that secured by the old method of starting. This point will 
be enforced by illustrations. 

HOW TO SECURE THE DESIRABLE FORM 

For the benefit of the inexperienced reader, it will be well in 
illustrate the steps by which the form of tree found so generally 
desirable is to be attained. 

Cutting Back at Planting. — This has been shown on page 116 
to be essential to strong growth of the transplanted tree. It is also 
the prime act in securing a tree with a low head and strong 
branches. Formerly trees were cut back farther than desirable and 




:t^- 




Pruning for branch spacing. 

Yearling apple marked to cut back for greater or less 
space between main branches; also first year's growth 
from each beginning marked for first winter pruning. 



126 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the branches allowed to crowd each other, as has just been stated. 
It is better to retain twenty-four inches of stem than twelve inches 
— providing care is taken during the first summer to prevent, by 
pinching, the growth of too many branches near together. Allow 
those to grow which are more distant from each other on the stem 
and pinch the intervening shoots. In this way one can have the 
lowest branch at six inches from the ground in the hot valleys if 
desired, or twelve inches in the coast valleys, and the highest 
branch at eighteen or twenty-four inches. This gives about twice 
the distance between the main branches which was formerly al- 
lowed, and it is of vast advantage to the strength of the tree. The 
illustrations of this fact are from trees planted by the writer in 1887 
to test this matter. At this date they are large trees and show the 
forms of heads resulting from different spacing of branches on the 
young trees during the first summer's growth. 

First, then, cut back the tree just after planting, as shown in the 
engraving, deciding first at what height you wish your trees to form 
heads, and cut them all back as uniformly as possible and still secure 
a good bud just below the point of cutting. To preserve these buds 
the trees should be handled carefully while removing from the nursery 
and during planting. 

If the tree has already grown laterals where the head is desired, 
three or four of these properly placed on the stem may be selected 
to form the main branches, shortened in to the sound bud nearest the 
stem, and other laterals, not desired to form the head, removed. This 
treatment is shown in the engraving of a young peach tree well 
branched in the nursery. If all the laterals on the young tree have 
started out above where the head is desired, as is sometimes the case, 
it may be necessary to remove the whole top, and usually others will 
start below afterwards. If there are no buds visible on the stem at 
the place where the head is desired, the choice must be made between 
heading the tree higher up, where the buds are, or cutting back without 
regard to buds, trusting to the development of latent buds at the right 
place, or to the growth of a shoot from below, which can be cut back 
to form a head the following year. It is for this reason, among others, 
that planters prefer a yearling tree which has not branched, but has 
good buds all along the stem. Peaches and apricots usually branch 
in the nursery, but usually have dormant buds at the bases of such 
branches which can be employed in making new growth where it is 
desired. 

After cutting back at planting, the shoots desired to form the head 
are allowed to make their full growth without interference. All shoots 
not desired for branches are pinched off after growing out two or 
three inches, leaving a bunch of leaves to shade the trunk and contribute 
to its stouter growth. Constant watchfulness is necessary to pinch off 
undesirable branches all the first summer. 



STRONG TREES FRO INI A RIGHT START 127 

First Pruning. — In the winter following- planting, the shoots of 
the previous season's growth are cut back to about ten or twelve inches 
from their junction with the stem. Some prefer to cut shorter, but 
this is apt to huddle the branches too close together when they get old 
and stout. Growers, however, do not agree on the exact length which 
these future main branches should be left at the first pruning. 

If, during the first summer's gro\vth, all shoots except the number 
desired to form the head have been pinched back, the first winter 
pruning consists only in cutting back the main branches. If laterals 
have grown on the parts of these branches which are to be left on the 
tree, they should be cut back to a bud or two. This is better than 
removing them entirely, for the next summer they will be pinched after 
throwing out a few leaves to shade and thicken the branches, just as 
the short growths left the previous summer serve the main stem. 

Second Pruning. — During the second summer it is usual to al- 
low two branches to grow from each of the main branches left at the 
previous winter pruning, and to pinch ofif all others, as described. 
These branches are allowed to run out their full growth, except where 
excessive growth is made, and then it is repressed by summer pruning. 
This is done with the apricot in the warmer parts of the State, as will 
be considered at length in the chapter on that fruit. Usually, however, 
the main branches are untouched during the second summer's growth 
unless some are running out so far as to make the tree lop-sided. 
During the following winter the main branches are cut back from 
one-half to two-thirds of the growth they have made, and if too many 
strong laterals have grown below this point, some are shortened, others 
are removed entirely where they are apt to cross or crowd each other 
or to interfere with cultivation. It is not desirable, however, that all 
small growth should be cleanly removed. Some of these small shoots 
will bear a little fruit and the leaf action is in any case desirable as a 
contributor to the strength of the larger branches to which they are 
attached. Besides, they serve to shade the bark from sunburn. 

Third Pruning. — When the tree reaches its third winter prun- 
ing, its form is well outlined, and early-bearing trees like the peach, 
apricot, almond, Japanese plum, etc., will give the grower a respectable 
crop the next season. To bear this crop greater care should be taken 
at the third winter pruning to leave the small laterals low down on 
the main branches, for on them, clustered close in the head of the tree, 
most of the first crop will be found. Though some trees, as stated, do 
bear earlier than the third summer, the fruit is not usually considered 
of commercial account until the third summer. An engraving is given 
of a peach tree just after its second winter pruning. It is a very good 
representative of the vase-form of a tree as grown in California. It 
has four main branches, each issuing from a different point on the 
stem, each permitted to carry two main branches, which are not 



128 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



arranged around the circumference, but some of them tending toward 
the center. At the third pruning more shoots have been left than are 
required by the rvile, for, starting with four main branches, there are 
usually sixteen left at the third pruning. 



PRUNING BEARING TREES 

Three winter prunings of deciduous trees usually establish their 
permanent form, and subsequent pruning is chiefly directed toward 
the retention of that form ; for strength of branch and stem ; for renewal 
of bearing wood ; for regulation of amount of bearing wood ; for rela- 
tive light and shade, and for convenience in cultivation and other 
orchard work. Naturally, these ends are sought according to the needs 
and habits of different fruits, and the methods of attaining them will 
be discussed in the chapters treating of these fruits. There are, how- 
ever, certain general considerations which are proper in this connec- 
tion: 

Pruning during the dormancy of the tree induces greater growth 
of wood during the following summer ; pruning during the active 




Yearling peach. 



Cut back at planting. First 



summer's growth in the 
orchard. 



These sketches, and those on pages 129 and 13U, represent the progress of the peach tree 
from a branched yearling to bearing form entering the third summer. 



HOW TO PRUNE FOR EFFECTS 



129 



period reduces wood growth and promotes fruit-bearing. The amount 
of wood removed during the dormant period will make the summer 
growth of wood proportionately stronger. Whether the total weight 
of wood growth would be greater may be questioned, but the effective 
wood growth is certainly greater. Whether the feet of new wood 
grown on a peach tree cut back to stumps in the winter would be 
greater in weight than all the inches of growth which would be scat- 





First winter pruning. 



Second summer growth in orcharcf. 



tered all over the surface of the tree if not cut back, may be doubted, 
but the new growth secured by cutting back will be of immense vigor, 
and the following year will bear large fruit, while the new growth on 
the tree not cut back will be thin and short and the fruit absent or 
indifferent. The weaker the tree or the branch or the twig of the tree, 
the greater part of it to be removed when dormant to get the stronger 
new growth. 

In the case of fruit trees in vigorous growth pruning during the 
active period or allowing the wood to go uncut during the dormant 
period, having the same effect, viz., the promotion of fruiting. Some 
trees, like apricots and peaches, which bear upon new laterals, will 
bear fruit even though heavily winter-cut, if these small laterals are 
retained on the lower parts of the main branches. Some other trees, 



130 



CAL1F()RNIA fruits: HOW TO GROW THEM 



like the prune, which bear on spurs, will delay the formation of spurs 
if heavily winter-cut. These two facts suggest two diverse policies 
in pruning bearing trees : A peach tree unpruned will reduce its crop 
for lack or weakness of new laterals ; a prune tree too severely winter- 
pruned will reduce its crop for lack of old spurs. Again, some fruits, 
or varieties of fruits, bear chiefly upon the tips, others chiefly upon the 
lateral spurs ; shortening one reduces the crop largely ; shortening the 
other ma}^ increase the marketable crop by decreasing the aggregate 




Second winter pruning in orchard. 



number. These and other similar facts suggest that pruning bearing 
trees, to be intelligently pursued, must be accompanied with the fullest 
possible knowledge of the bearing habit of the fruit or variety thereof. 
Cutting back or "shortening" in" should be done in a way which 
w^ill reduce the burst of new shoots near the cut. This is measurably 
secured by always cutting the branch at a strong lateral, because the 
sap flow into this lateral prevents undue pressure and forcing of latent 
buds in the vicinity r)f the cut. For this reason the cutting back of all 
branches to a certain definite height is wrong. Trees shorn across at a 
certain line become thick as a brush with top shoots which require 
extensive thinning, or the bearing wood will soon be all at that level 
through failure of the densely shaded bearing wood below. Cut t(i 
the nearest lateral below the line you wish to approximate, and shorten 



now TO PRUNE FOR EFFECTS 131 

the lateral, if desirable, and the result will be fewer and stronger shoots 
than from a stub-cut. 

In the treatment of bearing- trees the main effort should generally 
be toward thinning or reducing the number of bearing shoots. This 
is related to the important work of thinning the fruit to reduce the 
burden of the tree, and will be mentioned again in that connection. 
The work has, however, a bearing beyond the size of the individual 
fruit specimens. It involves the whole future of the tree as a profitable 
affair. An unthinned tree becomes a thicket of small, weak, and dying 
laterals and spurs. An attempt to cure this afterwards by sawing out 
many large branches is only partially successful, though perhaps the 
best thing that can be done after such condition has been allowed to 
exist. The only way to keep the interior of the tree full enough of 
strong, bearing wood is to resolutely and regularly thin out surplus 
shoots as the tree advances in age and size. This work is as important 
with trees which are not regularly cut back, as with those which are 
thus treated. It is one of the most vital as well as the most generally 
neglected item in orchard practice. 

In thinning out lateral bearing shoots seldom leave more than one 
at any point; select the strongest; remove the rest close to the branch. 
When a new shoot springs out at the base of an older one remove the 
older one ; when a new shoot breaks out on the side of an older one 
cut the older one back to that point. In thinning always reject the 
older, weaker laterals or spurs. This does not apply to the outbreak of 
strong suckers or water sprouts below the main branches ; they should 
usually be cleanly cut away unless a new main branch is desirable. 

Pruning of bearing trees should always have regard to the removal 
of branches which have become decrepit. through sunburn, blight or 
disease of any kind, frost injury, or in any form die-back from what- 
ever cause. Such wood is not only of lessened value, but there is also 
danger of extension of the trouble. Removing such wood and training 
new wood to take its place should always be in mind. 

Where cutting of large branches is demanded for any reason it 
should be remembered that the wounds are most quickly healed and 
least injury to the tree is to be apprehended if the cutting is done near 
the beginning of the growing season, and not at the beginning of the 
dormant period. 

TIMES FOR PRUNING 

Some changes of view have lately prevailed as to the times, within 
the dormant period, during which winter-pruning can be done to the 
best advantage. Formerly it was thought to be a vital matter that no 
cutting should be done until the leaves had fallen, and this is still 
the prevailing practice, and may prove to be on all accounts the best. 
Recently, however, pruning in autumn has been quite widely practiced. 



132 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



Fall Pruning. — There is a time near the end of the active season 
in California when the foliage changes its aspect. There is no marked 
change in color, perhaps, but there is a certain limpness and drooping 
which betokens decided decline in activity. It comes first to the early 
fruits, the cherries and apricots, for instance, and upon old trees earlier 
than young ones. The buds are well formed ; the season's growth 
apparently complete. There are no frosts to hasten the fall of the leaf 
and it remains in place. Does it render any important service? On 
the conclusion that it does not, many growers begin the winter pruning 
while the days are longer and ground dry and firm, rather than delay 
pruning until the short, dark days and rain-soaked soil of December 
and January render pruning expensive and disagreeable. Those trees 
are first pruned which first assume the appearance described, and the 










iTr#'''rf '" 







Young peach and apple trees, showing branches well spaced on the stems. 

work proceeds with other varieties afterwards until the winter pruning 
is finished by December 1 — about the time when it commonly began 
under the old practice. Not only is more thus accomplished in the 
same number of days' work, but the orchard is earlier in shape for the 
winter spraying and cultivation, and the grower is ahead of his work 
and not behind it all the season if the season is unusually rainy. Sev- 
eral years' practice of this method discloses no bad results except in the 
one item of increasing danger from frost. Vines and trees pruned 
early in the dormant period have a tendency to start growth earlier 
than those pruned late in the dormant period. In places, then, where 
early bloom and fruit-setting are particularly threatened by frost, this 
practice may be undesirable. 



POINTS ON SUMMER PRUNING 133 

Spring Pruning. — Resting largely upon this matter of retarding 
growth, the practice of pruning very late in the dormant period, or, 
in fact, at the beginning of the growing season, is also gaining wider 
adoption where frost injury is especially feared. It is not actual freez- 
ing, but a drop of two or three degrees below the freezing point which 
is feared, and during recent years such a temperature has wrought 
havoc with some fruits, in early valley regions particularly. Later 
pruning, even after the bloom and foliage have appeared, has worked 
no injury to the trees, but it is less conveniently done than when the 
trees are free of foliage. 

Summer Pruning. — Summer pruning, to induce bearing, is, as 
has been previously intimated, but little employed in this State, for the 
constant tendency of our trees is to bear early and to overbear. Enough 
has, however, been done in individual cases to show that fruit-bearing 
is promoted by pruning after the chief growth of the season has been 
attained. If the pruning results in forcing out laterals late in the 
season it has been done too early. What is desirable is the strengthen- 
ing or development of fruit buds, and this will be accomplished after 
the energy has been too far dissipated to make new wood growth. 

Summer pruning to check the too exuberant wood growth of some 
kinds of trees is employed to some extent, chiefly in the warmer parts 
of the State, where the vegetative process in some trees seems fairly 
to run riot, and unless checked is apt to ruin the tree by breaking to 
pieces when the wind and weight of fruit test its strength. The meth- 
ods of summer pruning employed in different parts of the State for 
different fruits will be considered in connection with the special chap- 
ters on these fruits. 

Summer pruning to preserve form is another matter, and relates in 
the main to pinching in, to check undesirable extension and to direct 
the sap toward shoots in which growth is desired. This practice is 
approved by most of our orchardists, and is employed by them to a 
greater or less extent. More people believe in than practice it, however, 
because the summer months, with their long succession of fruits to be 
gathered and shipped or dried, and the additional consideration that 
there is always a scarcity of labor at this time, give the orchardist so 
much work to do that he is more apt to confine his "pinching" to a 
little that he may do now and then when he has a few moments' leisure 
than to do the work thoroughly and systematically. The result is that 
the regular winter pruning is the main operation for tree shaping in 
this State. 

There is such a great difference in opinion about summer pruning 
that it will be very difficult to make any assertions about it which will 
not be disputed. Much of this difference comes, of course, from differ- 
ent conditions prevailing in different trees and in different parts of 
the State, and some of these will be met, as already promised, in follow- 
ing chapters. Leaving these wholly out of consideration at this time, 



134 



rAI.Tl'ORXIA FRTITS: IIDW TO GROW THEM 



it is safe to advise those who wisli to secure symmetry or any particular 
form in any kind of a tree, that they can resort to summer pinching 
with advantage, and can sometimes to advantage remove wood too 
large for the thumb and finger to sever. 

Constant watchfulness should be maintained for adventitious shoots 
starting out on stem or limb at points where branches are not desired. 
Wherever they start out strongly, they should be pinched, or entirely 
removed, according to the best judgment to be formed in each case. 

V/ 




Weak tree from ill-spaced branches. 

Suckers which properly, according to Downing, are "shoots sent up 
from the root or from parts of the stem below the surface of the soil," 
should be removed whenever discovered. 



RENEWING OLD TREES 

Improving and renewing trees by cutting back and grafting has 
already been considered under the head of propagation. It is often 
desirable to renew trees of a satisfactory variety, and this is done 
simply by cutting back when the tree is dormant. Cutting back was 
formerly done early in the winter, before the rise of the sap begins, but 
more recently it has been seen that the exposure of large cut surfaces 
for weeks or months before growth begins, results in drying and shrink- 
age of the bark and checking of the wood, both of which are avoided 
by ampiftation later in the dormant period or during the early part of 
the growing season. In cutting back, of course, those stumps should 
be left to support new branches which will secure the best balance and 
symmetry in the new head. When the new growth starts there gener- 
ally appear many more shoots than are desirable, and selection of the 
best-placed and most vigorous should be chosen, the others either being 
rubbed off in the bud or pinched back when a few leaves are put out. 
In cutting back trees, the exposed trunk and branch stumps should be 
wrapped in old sacking, or carefully whitewashed as protection from 
sunburn. 

In removing large limbs it is desirable that the cut should be made 
in the right place so as to secure quick covering of the scar with new 



RKNEW'INCJ OLD TRIBES 1 3.S 

growth. Cutting so as to leave a long stub results in an unsiglul\ 
piece of dead wood on the tree, and this, in decaying, carries the deca\' 
deep into the center of the trunk or branch. Cutting too close prevents 
covering with the new bark, and also results in a hole in the branch. 
Cutting just to the right mark, which is the outer edge of the little 
collar or swelling which will be found at the base of all branches, 
enables the wound to grow over quickly, and if the wound is properly 
treated when cut. there* will be no decay, and the wound will soon be 
obliterated. 

In amputating large branches, an undercut with the saw should be 
made first so that the bark shall not be torn as the branch falls. Another 
good way is to saw off first at a distance from the final cut, and then 
saw off smoothly at the right place when the weight is removed. 

Trees often liecome "hide-bound," as it is called. Especially in lliis 
dry climate the bark gets dry and tough, therefore can not expand in 
proportion to the growth of the tree, or supply the amount of sap nec- 
essary for the demand. Slitting such trees here and there up and down 
the trunk and main limbs with a sharp knife seems to have good effect, 
for often in three months the cut opens half an inch, and a fine, clear 
bark, with an increase of growth, results. On old trees, too, there is 
often a growth of moss and lichens which should be removed. This 
can be done by scraping off the rough, loose bark and spraying with 
an alkaline wash, composed of one pound of cau.stic soda or potash to 
six gallons of water. If scale insects are present, the lime. salt, and 
sulphur spray should be used, as will be described in the chapter on 
injurious insects. This will remove the parasites, give the trees a clean, 
bright bark and contribute to their vigor. 



PRUNING TOOLS 

There is some dift'erence of opinion as to the comparative value <rf 
the pruning knife and the pruning shears. The knife, if sharp, and 
well used, makes a smooth cut. with no bruising of the bark, and such 
a wound heals over perfectly. The shears, if of good pattern and sharp, 
also make a very good cut, but there is always some little injury to 
the bark on the side opposite to the entry of the blade. On small cuts, 
say three-quarters of an inch or less, if the blade is kept very sharp, the 
resistance does not make sufficient injury to the bark to seriously con- 
sider, and the speed with which the shears can be used renders them 
the main reliance for all the smaller pruning. Nearly all styles of hand 
shears are used in this State. 

There are, also, two-hand shears, which are very powerful, and en- 
able one to work very quickly. When kept well sharpened they are 
very effective tools. There are a number of styles in use, both home- 
made and imported. 



136 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Still another arrangement of shears is mounted on a pole, the cut- 
ting blade being operated by a cord, and having a spring to throw the 
blade back. The pole is jointed, so that one or more lengths can be 
used. With this device one can stand on the ground and shorten in 
the top shoots of a tree very handily. 

For larger cuts than can be made with the pruning knife or one- 
hand shears, there are pruning saws of different styles, of which two 
styles are chiefly used. One has a frame made of the best spring steel, 
constructed somewhat on the plan of a butcher's saw, except that the 
saw blade is much narrower; and instead of being stationary, it re- 
volves so that the pruner is enabled to adjust the blade to cut at any 
angle, as is often necessary to do when cutting where limbs grow close 
together, and where it would be impossible to use an ordinary saw of 
a wider blade. The blade is only one-fourth to one-half inch wide, and 
therefore not liable to get pinched in the cut. Strength is imparted by 
a tension screw under the handle, which tightens the blade. The blade 
is easily detached by slackening the tension screw, and lifting the blade 
out of the slot in the clutches at each end. The blade can be thus re- 
versed and made to cut with a push or a pull, as may be desired. 

Another popular saw is the curved pruning saw, with twelve and 
fourteen-inch blades, which cuts with a pull. 

During recent years it has been possible to find quite full assort- 
ments of pruning tools at the hardware and general mechandise stores 
in all our fruit districts where these devices can be compared and se- 
lection made according to individual preference, for there can be no 
best tools for all men and all uses. 



CUTTING TO A BUD 

Whatever may be used to make the cut, it is important to sever 
the twig or shoot at that distance from a wood bud which gives that 
bud the best chance to grow well, and at the same time facilitates the 
healing and complete obliteration of the scar. Cutting too far from the 
bud leaves a stub which dies back, and is likely to carry decay into the 
pith and thence down into the limb. Cutting too close to the bud or 
carrying the slope down too far behind it, does not give it enough live 
wood to carry it, and it makes a weak growth. 

Cutting to inside buds with trees of spreading habit, and to outside 
buds with upright growers, or to a side bud when lateral extension is 
desired, should always be remembered as a means of throwing new 
growth in the direction demanded by symmetery and equal occupation 
of the space allotted to the tree. This is one respect in which study 
of the habit of the tree suggests proper practice. 



CUTTING AND COVERING 137 

COVERING WOUNDS 

Whenever wood is cut with so great diameter that it will not grow 
over in one season, the wound should be coated with something to keep 
the wood from checking and decaying. It has been amply demon- 
strated by California experience that smooth-paring of the cut made 
by shears or saw is a waste of time. Large wounds should, however, 
be covered to prevent checking of the wood and drying back of bark 
edges. Nothing is better or cheaper for this covering than lead and 
oil paint, a little thicker than for ordinary use, and applied sparingly, 
so that it will not run down the bark. Asphaltum, "Grade D," applied 
warm is used in the same way with satisfaction. 

GATHERING UP PRUNINGS 

Gathering up prunings for burning is tedious and expensive, and 
several efforts have been made to substitute machinery for hand labor. 
Anderson's Brush Rake, invented by W. C. Anderson, of San Jose, 
has been used to some extent. It readily gathers all kinds of tree and 
vine brush, compresses it considerably and is easily discharged of its 
load by a slight lift while still going forward. It is said to save about 
one-half the cost of hand raking. Brush is often gathered into wind- 
rows by the use of horse rakes borrowed from the hay field. 

Baling Prtmings. — There is a fuel value in prunings which has 
become more clear since pumping for irrigation is so widely practiced, 
but loose prunings are too expensive in handling. T. G. Rogers, of 
Winters, has contrived a "brush baler.'' It is a large strong saw-horse 
inverted, to which is bolted a long, heavy lever. Attached to a cross 
piece on the lever are four heavy tines bent in a semi-circle. The saw- 
horse is filled with brush, the lever is then pulled down and fastened by 
a ratchet brake, the brush is forced into a small, compact bundle, and 
when bound with wire makes a bundle easily handled by the fireman. 

THINNING FRUIT 

Intimately connected with the pruning of bearing trees, is the thin- 
ning of the fruit or proper spacing of the individual fruits so that each 
shall have space and sap to allow its attainment of satisfactory market- 
able size. It has been fully demonstrated that no demand is profitable 
which will be content with the undersized fruit from an overladen tree. 
The superior price for good-sized fruit for all uses, not excluding dry- 
ing, is unquestionable ; the total weight secured may be variable as be- 
tween thinned and unthinned trees, but it can be accepted as an in- 
disputable fact that any increase of weight there may be upon an un- 
thinned tree will not be nearly an equivalent for the loss in value. It is 




138 



THINNING FRUIT 139 

the conclusion of our lar^^est and most successful growers that, large as 
is the expenditure required for careful and systematic thinning of fruit, 
it is the most directly profitable outlay which they have to make for 
orchard maintenance. 

Objects in view in Fruit Thinning. — But thinning fruit has 
objects beyond the value of the visible crop which it makes profitable. 
No overburdened tree can discharge the two-fold summer duty of 
every cultivated fruit-bearing tree, which is to perfect this season's 
fruit and lay a good strong foundation for next year's bearing. Tf the 
tree, after fruit gathering, has not the strong, vigorous foliage to 
complete the formation of fruit buds for the following year, there will 
either be a lack of bloom or a show of bloom unfit to set, and the tree 
will work for itself next year, and not for you, because this year you 
would not work for it. In this particular, thinning fruit coincides in 
])urpose with pruning to limit the amount of bearing wood, which has 
already been considered. 

Other objects there are also which are related directly to the profit 
of orcharding and should command respect from the most careless. 
The following is an emphatic statement of the case.* 

There arc at. least six ways in wliicli growers arc repaid for thinning 
pcaclies. nectarines or apricots designed for drying: 

I'irst: You can thin oflf half the fruit when small quicker than you could 
pick it when large, and when mature the time required to fill a basket de- 
pends mainly upon the number of peaches it liolds. 

Second: Tt takes just as long to cut and spread on a drying tray a small 
peach as a large one. Tt takes longer to cut eight peaches that will weigh a 
pound than to cut three and pick five off when they are little. 

Third: Tf peaches run six to the pound the weight of pits will not vary 
much from that of the cured fruit. Tf they run three to the pound, they will 
weigh not much over half. .\ ton of large peaches is as likelj' to yield 400 
potmds of dried as a ton of small fruit of the same variety to yield 300 
pounds. It means a difference of about $8.00 per ton in the value of the fresh 
fruit to the dryer. It will cost over $1.00 per ton to thin a heavily laden 
peach orchard in a way to make that difference. 

Fourth: Granted that you leave fruit to reach the same weight at ma- 
turity, still you leave it along the body and in places on the limbs where the 
weight has no breaking leverage and take it off the ends where it may get 
sun-burned and is almost sure to break the tree. 

Fifth: Vitality drawn from the plant and certain elements of fertility 
from the soil, are in proportion to the number of seeds matured. The pulp 
cuts little figure except in aerial substances and water. 

Sixth: Suppose that fruit dried from peaches that weigh three to the 
pound only brings one cent a pound more than that from peaches half that 
size. Two cents would more accurately measure the difference in value. 
Still, the smaller figure is enough to meet the whole cost of picking and 
Iiauling or of cutting and drying in any well-managed establishment. 

When to Thin Fruit. — Thiiuiing of fruit sli<nild l)cgiii wtili the 
winter pruning of bearing trees, as has been already urgvtl in con- 
nection with regulating the amount of bearing wood allotted to each 
tree. After this is carefullv done, there is the thinnino- of bloom, which 



Condensed from F. S. Chapin. 



140 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

is urged on the ground of least possible loss of energy by the tree in 
the partial development of fruit to be subsequently removed. Hand- 
thinning of individual blooms is impracticable on a commercial scale, 
but the removal of spurs or twigs, or shortening of them with shears, 
is feasible enough. The objection must lie in the fact that profusion 
of bloom does not necessarily indicate an excessive set of fruit, and any 
severe reduction of bloom is, therefore, venturesome unless one is fully 
assured by local experience of the habit of the variety under treatment. 
Reduction of the amount of fruit itself is, therefore, the only safe pro- 
ceeding, and this should not, as a rule, be undertaken until the first 
drop, through lack of pollination, has taken place. Even at greater 
theoretical loss of energy to the tree, it is better to err on the side of 
thinning a little too late than too early in order to secure the fullest 
assurance possible of the permanent burden which the tree assumes. 
Where spring frosts are likely to occur they afford additional reason 
for delay. If surety of the local conditions comes before the pits harden 
in the young fruit it is fortunate for the tree, but even after that it is 
still a greater saving to the tree and assurance of profit to the grower 
to reduce the fruit to a proper amount than to permit over-bearing. 

The Practice of Thinning. — If the tree has not been sufficiently 
relieved of an excess of bearing wood during the winter pruning and 
has made a very heavy set of fruit, thinning with the shears by cutting 
out whole spurs or short bearing shoots, or even shortening in longer 
limbs, cutting always to a lateral when possible, is of no appreciable 
injury to the tree. After all the shear-work possible is done, the spac- 
ing of the fruits on the twigs and branches must be provided for. This 
was done in early days by beating the tree with a pole, and some still 
maintain that they can use the pole to advantage. The almost universal 
practice, however, is to use the hand in plucking or pushing off the 
small fruit. This is done very quickly by experienced workmen. If 
the trees are low, as they should be, most of the work can be done from 
the ground. It is best to work in vertical spaces and take all that can 
be reached from top to bottom without changing position ; then move 
a step or two and take another vertical strip, and so on. 

The distance which should be left between specimens depends upon 
conditions. It is as unsatisfactory to thin by rule of inches as it is to 
prune by such a rule. The space to each fruit depends upon the kind, 
the age, vigor and strength of the tree, the size and thrift of the lateral 
or spur which carries the fruit, the moisture supply, the richness of the 
soil, etc. It also depends upon what use is to be made of the fruit, be- 
cause it is possible to have some fruit which is too large for ceratin 
demands, though this objection does not often arise. The strength of 
the shoot is perhaps the most easily appreciable factor. With peaches, 
for instance, a shortened lateral one-eighth of an inch in diameter 
should only carry one peach, while one one-quarter of an inch in dia- 



THINNING FRUIT 141 

meter might mature four good large fruits. It would evidently be 
wrong to work for an arbitrary inch-distance on all sorts of shoots, and 
it will be seen to be just as irrational if it be applied without regard to 
the other conditions of the tree. If, however, a rule must be had, let 
it be this, that the distance between the fruit shall be two and one-half 
times the diameter desired in the fruit. This would fix an arbitrary 
distance, then of four to six inches for apricots and six to eight inches 
for peaches — with other fruits according to their respective sizes, and 
the late varieties with greater distance than early. 

Any such standard, however, considers only the size of the fruit, 
not the strength of the tree, and therefore stops short of one of the im- 
portant ends of thinning, to conserve the strength of the tree for next 
season's fruiting. Fruits might be thus spaced and still the tree be 
overladen, because it may be carrying too many bearing shoots. Cal- 
culate the burden of the tree in this way, for instance : Peaches which 
weigh three to the pound are of fair marketable size; sixty such 
peaches will fill an ordinary peach box of twenty pounds ; ten to twelve 
such boxes is fruit enough for a good bearing tree six to ten years of 
age. Now count the little peaches you have left on one main branch 
and its laterals, which ought to be about one-tenth of the tree, and thin 
down to about sixty. By doing a few trees in this way and thinking 
of the relation of the bearing wood to the fruit, one will soon get 
a conception of the proper degree of thinning, and proceed to realize 
it as rapidly as the fingers can fly along the branch. 

It is seldom desirable to divide doubles in peaches ; pull both off or 
leave both on, as they may be needed or not to make the load of the 
tree. Clusters of apples or pears should often be reduced to singles, 
except where size is apt to be too great. 

All kinds of fruit are clearly subject to increase of size by thinning, 
but it is with only the larger fruits that the practice prevails at present. 
The dividing line seems to lie upon the prune. With this fruit thinning 
is only done by pruning the tree for the reduction of the number of 
bearing branches, while with some shipping plums hand thinning is 
practiced. Growers are still striving for a prune naturally of larger 
size rather than to have recourse to thinning. 

The practice of thinning partially at first, trusting to further re- 
moval of fruit later if too much of it survives the natural drop and 
various accidents, is followed by some growers, but the rule is to finish 
at one operation. 



CHAPTER XIII 
CULTIVATION 

It was cleiiionstratt'd very early in California experience in fruit 
growing, that '"clean culture" is generally the proper treatment for 
trees and vines during the proper season, at least. Though the fre- 
quent stirring of the soil and eradication of grass and weeds have been 
advocated by certain horticulturists for generations and have recently 
been demonstrated to be desirable by careful comparative experiments 
it has nowhere secured such wide adherence as in California. It may 
even be held to be an essential to successful growth of tree and vine in 
most soils and situations in California, and the several advantages of 
clean culture are intensified under our conditions. 

Chief of these advantages is the maintenance of the soil in a condi- 
tion favoring root growth, and the main feature of this condition is the 
retention of the moisture, though regulation of summer temperature in 
the soil is also involved. Where moisture-retention is not the chief con- 
cern, because of ample irrigation facilities, and the moderation of soil 
temperature of greater moment, a summer-growing cover crop may 
be of benefit to the trees. In irrigated districts of excessive heat and 
dry air this policy may prevail, but it will be only the exception to the 
rule of clean culture. 

Retaining Moisture by Cultivation. — It is a familiar fact that 
water will rise in a tube of exceeding small diameter very much higher 
than the surface of the body of water in which the tube is held upright. 
The water rises by capillary attraction. A compact soil has extending 
through it, minute spaces, formed by the partial contact of its particles, 
which facilitate the rise of water from moist layers below, in accord- 
ance with the same principle which causes the water to rise in the 
capillary tube. This movement is constantly going on in firm soil, 
and as fast as the top layer is robbed of its moisture by evaporation, 
the water rises from below and it too is evaporated. During the long, 
dry summer, the water rises and is evaporated from a depth of sev- 
eral feet in some soils, and the earth, beneath the baking sun heat, 
becomes "dry as a brick."" 

When a soil is broken up by culitvation, capillarity is temporarily 
destroyed through the disturbed layer, because the particles are so sep- 
arated that the mutual connection of the minute inter-spaces no longer 
exists. But if it can be roughly broken up, so that the disturbed layer 
takes the form of coarse clods, the air has free access to the upper sur- 
face of the firm soil beneath them, in which the capillary condition still 
exists, and evaporation proceeds in the same way. though in a some- 
what less degree, as if there had been no cultivation. It becomes evi- 

142 



METHODS OF CULTIVATION 143 

dent, then, that the pulverization of the disturbed layer must be so 
complete that the particles are separated and capillarity destroyed, and, 
farther, that the free access of air to the lower point, where capillarity 
exists, must be prevented. This is accomplished by the fine loose earth 
which acts as a mulch. When this is attained, only that moisture in the 
upper surface which comes in immediate contact with the air is evap- 
orated, and the balance is retained for the use of the plant. Plants 
growing, then, in a well-cultivated soil, have the water in the lower 
soil held for their use, and as fast as they use it the supply is replaced 
through the firm soil below, which evaporation being stopped, remains 
moist and permeable by roots which extend freely, seeking the nour- 
ishment they need. 

Such is a brief outline of the theory which explains the results 
gained by thorough cultivation of the soil, so far, at least, as retention 
of moisture is concerned. The practical demonstration is easy. Go 
into a well-cultivated orchard or vineyard, push aside the soil with the 
foot, and moisture will be found two or three inches from the surface, 
or even less in some soils, while on uncultivated land adjacent, digging 
to the depth of several feet will show nothing but hard earth, baked 
and arid. In such hard-baked earth, moreover, the sun heat is conveyed 
or conducted downward very rapidly during a hot day, so that in some 
cases the roots are seriously injured. When the surface is well tilled, 
it will act like a blanket, preventing a too rapid conveyance of heat 
downward, and thus also diminishing the intensity of evaporation. 

Accurate demonstration of these facts has recently been secured 
as the result of many moisture determinations in cultivated and uncul- 
tivated soil by the University of California Agricultural Experiment 
Station.* Very striking exhibition of the condition of trees with and 
without cultivation is found in the engravings which are reproduced 
herewith. Upon the demonstration, the practice in the uncultivated 
orchard was radically unchanged. The exact determination of mois- 
ture present at various depths of the soil beneath these contrasted 
orchards in the month of July is as follows : 



Depth in soil. Per cent. 

First foot 6.4 

Second foot 5.8 

Third foot 6.4 

I'ourth foot 6.5 

Fifth fool 6.7 

Sixth foot . 6.0 

Totals, six feet.. 6.3 756 4.2 512 



Cultivated. 


Uncultivated. 


Tons per acre-. 


Per cent. 


Tons per acre. 


128 


4.3 


86 


116 


4.4 


88 


128 


3.9 


78 


130 


5.1 


102 


134 


3.4 


68 


120 


4.5 


90 



This shows a gain of nearly fifty per cent of soil moisture by cul 
tivation. 



Bulletin 121. 



144 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Necessity of Adequate Cultivation.— It has been very fully 
demonstrated by California experience that adequate depth of tilth 
must be attained. The depth of cultivation, or the thickness of the 
dust-mulch, as some like to call it, must be sufficient to prevent the 
access of the dry air to the firm soil below. At the East, where they 
have a moister air a thin mulch may answer, but in California, with 
a thirsty air for such a protracted period, there must be deeper 
tilth. Two or three inches of dust spread over a hardpan layer 
formed in some soils by cultivation, will not retain moisture well in 
California. The cultivator should go twice that depth, ordinarily, 
and then the result will be accomplished if it is done frequently 
enough to prevent the re-firming of the surface by atmospheric mois- 
ture or by the rise of moisture from below. The exact significance of 
depth in the loose, surface layer has also been demonstrated by mois- 
ture determination in the subsoil at different points by the California 
Experiment Station, as follows : 

Percentage of Moisture in Cultivated Loam Soil. 



Depth. Niles. Santa Maria. Ventura. 

Three inches 5.4 5.3 8.3 

Six inches 6.3 8.5 9.3 



These may be accepted, probably, as average results: Variation 
may occur in soils of different characters. The capillarity in a heavy 
soil is vastly greater than in a light soil. The difficulty of securing a 
pulverized surface layer is also greater in the heavy soil. The poorer 
the pulverization, the deeper the layer must be. Naturally, then, grow- 
ers' practice will vary. The rule will remain that there must be depth 
enough to secure effective protection of the firm soil beneath from 
agencies promoting evaporation. 

Loss of Moisture by Weed Growth. — One of the most active 
agencies for the exhaustion of moisture from the subsoil is the growth 
of weeds. To cultivate the soil in winter and spring, and then to allow 
a summer growth of weeds to "shade the soil" is a great error. Al- 
though under cover of rank weeds moisture may appear even at the 
surface and convey the impression of moisture-saving, the fact is, as 
fully demonstrated by experience and actual experiment, the moisture 
in the lower layers of the soil is reduced and trees are thus robbed of 
their supply. Weed growth must be resolutely suppressed during the 
dry season. 

Moisture Storage in the Soil. — Conservation of moisture in the 
soil is not only the surety of the current season's growth and fruit- 
fulness, but is the safeguard against injury from the years of deficient 
rainfall which occur now and then in California. The moisture supply 
is equalized by this storage of the soil, and a surplus from the liberal 



CROPS I5ET\VF,EN TREES AND VINES 145 

rainfall of one year is held over to snpply the lack of the next. Of 
course, the well-cultivated surface is also well calculated to catch water. 
While from a hard surface much of a heavy rainfall flows off quickly 
to a lower level before it can penetrate, a loose soil, if sufficiently deep, 
retains all that falls upon it. except the excess, which disappears by 
drainage. 

It has sometimes been held by California orchardists that planting 
some tall-growing crop, like corn, so as to shade the young tree and 
the ground around it, is an advantage. This is a great mistake. Though 
some rich, moist soils may aft'ord moisture enough to grow both the 
tree and the corn, it is a fact that in most cases the growth of the corn 
is made at the expense of the tree, and sometimes almost costs its life 
and thrift. It has been amply shown by invesigation that though shad- 
ing ground by a leafy growth may make the surface layer of the soil 
moister, the lower layers are invariably made drier, and it is in these 
lower layers that the tree seeks its sustenance. The young tree should 
be shaded as has been described in the chapter on planting, and not 
by a growing plant. 



GROWING CROPS BETWEEN TREES AND VINES 

The possible advantage of a cover growth of clover in regions of 
high heat and ample moisture has been noted at the opening of this 
chapter. The rule, however, must be : Grow nothing whatever between 
the trees if you desire the full success of the latter. As with all rules, 
this one may admit of exceptions. 

Inter-cultures in orchard or vineyard may be allowed under certain 
conditions of the soil and the purse of the grower. If the soil is deep 
and moist and rich, the cost of planting and cultivation, and sometimes 
more, may be made by growing a crop among your trees. Of course, 
if irrigation is available, much more can be done in this direction than 
if dependent upon natural supplies of water. 

There is much difference as to crops in amount of injury they may 
do to the trees. Growing alfalfa, without irrigation, has been known to 
kill out an orchard, and yet alfalfa growing in an orchard under con- 
ditions may be a great advantage, as described in the next chapter. 
Grain is less dangerous, but still is objectionable, both because of ex- 
haustion of soil and moisture, and because of danger to trees from heat 
deflected from straw and stubble. The crops least injurious, because 
of their requirements, and because of the constant cultivation of them, 
cnecks the loss of moisture by evaporation are corn, beans, potatoes, 
beets, carrots, etc., squashes, and other members of the melon family 
onions, and other shallow-rooting vegetables. In the growth of these, 
however, there should be a width of several feet of well-cultured soil 
on all sides of the tree, unoccupied. 



146 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THE.M 

111 soils exceptionally rich and deep, and where rainfall is abundant, 
inter-cultures of small fruits or vegetables may be carried on for 
a long series of years with profit both from the trees and the inter- 
culture. In similar deep, rich soils, with irrigation, immense crops of 
small fruits and vegetables, even as high as twelve to twenty-four tons 
of tomatoes per acre have been taken from between orchard rows, and 
one hundred and fifty sacks of onions per acre from between the 
rows of a strawberry plantation. In V^entura County some fields of 
lima beans, in favorable years, have paid over $70 per acre — grown 
between young trees. In other parts of the State considerable 
amounts of peas for sale to canners are grown between the rows in 
young orchards. This crop is especially desirable when good sale is 
assured, because the plant is hardy and can make a good part of its 
growth during the rainy season and the ground be cleaned up and 
well cultivated early in the summer. As beans and peas are legumes, 
their roots enrich the soil, as will be noted in the chapter on fertili- 
zation. 

How Exhaustion by Inter-Culture May Be Avoided. — But all 
inter-cultures are a loan made by the trees to the orchardist. The term 
may be very long and the rate of interest very small in some cases, but 
sooner or later the trees will need restitution to the soil of the plant 
food removed by inter-cropping. This may be accomplished by the 
use of fertilizers. Still the rule that the trees or vines should have all 
the ground is generally true. It is also true that on merely ordinary 
soils, trusting to rainfall, or on shallow soils, trusting in part to ir- 
rigation, the trees or vines should have the full strength of the land 
and all the help which can be given them in the shape of thorough 
cultivation. 

METHODS OF CULTIVATION 

In general terms the main objects of cultivation of orchard and 
vineyard are two : Winter cultivation for moi.sture reception, and sum- 
mer cultivation for moisture retention. 

Wherever early winter plowing can be done without too great 
danger of soil washing, it affords the best available means of admit- 
ting water to the great reservoir in the lower levels a deep soil. Too 
frequently large volumes of rain water, enriched by air-washing a:i 
it falls and by fine soil-particles as it flows, are allowed to run off 
into the country dainage, with the double loss of fertility and mois- 
ture to the fruit grower. Deep penetration of winter rains should be, 
in all safe ways, promoted. Cultivation for retention has already 
been strongly urged and is quite generally recognized. 

To serve these main purposes there are two main divisions of prac- 
tice in this State, each of which has variations of greater or less im- 
portance. 



PLOWINC ORCHARD AND VINEYARD 147 

J'irsl : Winter pl(n\ ing- followed by frcriiient use oi cultivator and 
pulverizer in summer. 

Second : Use of cultivator at intervals both winter and summer, fol- 
lowing, if needed, with pulverizer in the summer. 

The main features of each division of practice, and some of the 
claims by which each method is supported by its advocates, will be 
noted. 

Plowing Orchard and Vineyard. — There is considerable varia- 
tion in the practice of plowing orchard and vineyard, in the kinds of 
plows employed, and the times chosen for the work. Some plow but 
once, toward spring, w^henever the ground is in suitable condition ;- 
and, if there is much growth of weeds and clovers, a looped chain is 
run from the plow to the end of the evener to aid in drawing under 
the tall growth. Sometimes, however, the growth gets so rank before 
the soil is in condition to plow that the weeds are mown before 
plowing. Where but one plowing is done, the soil is usually thrown 
away from the trees and afterwards is leveled back by harrowing or 
cultivating. If this practice is adopted, care should be taken that the 
soil is properly returned about the tree roots, for injury is sometimes 
done by bringing the roots too near the surface, which is soon after- 
wards intensely heated by the sunshine. 

It is undoubtedly better practice to plow earlier, when the green 
stuff gets a good start, but is still not too high to turn under handily. 
In this practice the weed stems are less woody, and they easily decay 
and act as a fertilizer. Where early plowing is practiced, it is usual 
to plow again when the second growth of w^eeds reaches the proper 
state in the spring. When two plowings are given, the earth is usually 
thrown away from the trees in the first plowing, and returned toward 
the trees in the second plowing. But this order is sometimes reversed 
in situations here rainfall is heavy and the soil retentive, for the dead 
furrow between the rows often acts as a surface drain to carry off sur- 
plus water, which is thus prevented from standing around the tree roots. 
In all modes of plowing it is desirable that before the summer heat 
comes, the surface be leveled as completely as possible. 

Too much stress can not be laid u]ion the importance of i)lowing 
when the soil is in good condition and not otherwise. To disregard 
this is bad enough in all soils, but it is a grievous mistake to work 
any of the clayey soils when they are out of condition. If too wet, 
they are puddled by the plow and dry down in hard clods, impenetrable 
by air. and even resist water itself for a long time. When clods are 
thus formed, it may require long effort to bring the soil back to a good 
friable condition. The cultivation of adobe is one of the problems of 
California agriculture. The more refractory it is, the more particular 
care is needed to take it when it is in proper condition to work. To 
work it when perfectly dry is simply impossible, and if it is plowed when 




148 



BREAKING UP IIARDPAN 149 

loo wet and sticky, it becomes hard, lumpy, and altogether unmanage- 
able. The condition which favors best results by tillage must be learned 
by experience. 

Another mistake apt to be made where the orchard or vineyard 
is but one of the branches of a mixed farm, is to put aside the plow- 
ing until all the field work is done, and in some seasons the soil in the 
orchard has become so dry that it turns up in large clods which are 
afterwards partially reduced by the harrow, but never put in the fine 
tilth which should be secured for the retention of moisture and other- 
wise to encourage the growth and productiveness of the trees. 

Breaking up Hardpan. — Those who advocate the use of the 
plow, claim several advantages for it. The chief is that more thorough 
tilth can be secured. In most, but not all soils, there is formed by cul- 
tivation an artificial hardpan at whatever depth the implement attains, 
if this depth can be kept the same for many successive cultivations. 
This hardpan, in some soils at least, becomes impervious to water and 
is otherwise an injury to the growth of the trees. It occurs in irrigated 
and unirrigated land alike, but probably is more quickly formed by ir- 
rigation. When continuous summer cultivation is practiced, the hard- 
pan will be found at whatever depth the teeth uniformly reach. The 
remedy is to plow in winter just below this hardpan layer and thus 
break it up, and then by the action of the air and rains it is reduced, 
and cultivation may proceed as before. Where the hardpan is formed 
by the plow, the ground should be plowed shallow one year and deeply 
the next, thus alternating from year to year. 

Green Manuring. — Another advantage in the use of the plow 
is, as has already been mentioned, the turning under of the growth of 
weeds, grass, and clover as a green manure. Many growers attach 
considerable importance to this, and some, who have orchards in which 
winter growth has been killed out by long cultivation, are seeking for 
a quickly-growing crop which they can sow with the first rains and se- 
cure growth enough to turn under with the winter plowing. This con- 
sideration will be further presented in the chapter on fertilization. 

Plowing Hillside to Prevent Washing. — Where the slope of the 
land is sharp, there is much danger from washing during the rainy 
season, if the hillside is not terraced or furnished with ditches carefully 
laid out on contour lines to carry the water down on a gentle grade. 
The old plan of plowing furrows one above another around the hill to 
check the flow and let the water down easily, is often found treacherous 
unless one is able to strike good grades, because of the liability to col- 
lection of water at certain points and the subsequent breaking away 
and washing. Recently some of the foothill growers have adopted the 
plan of plowing furrows seven or eight feet apart straight down the 
hill in the direction of its deepest descent. The rainfall is thus dis- 
tributed over -the ground so that not much water is collected at any one 



150 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THBM 

place and the harm done by washing will not amount to much. Hillside 
work differs according to character of soil and of local rainfall and con- 
ference with experienced men in the region will usually afford the be- 
ginner the best suggestions of method. In some localities, the plowing 
of a few furrows at intervals to assist in penetration and the growth 
of a cover crop during the winter to assist in binding the soil, will be 
found better than any attempt at the early plowing, which may work 
admirably on level lands. 

The Best Plow. — For plowing orchards and vineyards many 
kinds of plows are used, including the ordinary one- and two-horse 
walking plows, single and double sulky or riding plows, and gang plows 
of different kinds. Recently disk plows and harrows have become very 
popular. In several of the leading fruit districts there are plows made 
in the local shops which are patterned to meet the different soils pre- 
vailing. Which is the best plow is a question which can not be an- 
swered, it must be determined by local conditions, and the best way to 
get information is to consult the experienced cultivators of the locality. 

Avoiding Injury to Trees and Vines. — The great problem is to 
use the plow so as not to injure the trees and vines. Injury to the 
roots is one ground on which those who advocate the banishment of 
the plow from the orchard and vineyard base their opposition, as will 
appear more fully presently. It is the usual practice to run the plow 
shallower when approaching the stem of the tree or vine, and this is 
easily done when using a riding plow or a two-horse walking plow be- 
tween the rows and finishing up near the trees with a single-horse walk- 
ing plow, which is a common practice. The injury by the plow, to 
which especial reference is now made, is that to the bark of the tree or 
to the vine stump. 

Makers of the special orchard and vineyard plows have recently 
made them adjustable so that the plow will work either side of the cen- 
tral line of draft, and these improved tools have rendered obsolete the 
early contrivances for accomplishing the result with common field 
plows. 

Flat Hames and a Spreader. — Among the worst things for use 
among trees are the pointed iron hames which are found on most har- 
nesses. They often seriously bark the branches under which the horse 
passes, and should be dispensed with. An arrangement widely used 
consists in having broad leather tugs and hames with only one long iron 
loop on the swell of the hame. The tug is passed around the hame and 
the end is brought through the iron loop from the under side so that the 
draft will hold the tug tight between the collar and the hame and the end 
between the iron staple and the pulling part of the trace. A spreader 
is put between the tugs ; it is made of a hard-wood stick sixteen to 
eighteen inches long; a hole is bored in each end large enough for a 



SUMMER CULTIVATION 151 

two-inch screw, a hole punched in each trace about twelve inches from 
the rear end, and the tugs are screwed to the ends of the spreader, and 
the ends of the tugs attached to the plow clevis. This gives no iron or 
wooden surfaces at all, either on harness or whilTletree, to strike the 
bark. 

Improved Singletrees. — -Later than these came the orchard and 
vineyard singletrees, invented and patented by Californians, which are 
widely used and sold in all stores of the fruit growing districts. 

Dispensing with Doubletrees. — Still other inventions which 
admit the use of two horses even close up to the trees, because they 
dispense entirely with whififletrees and tugs, are known as the steel 
harness, Eastern inventions, which have secured the approval of some 
of our leading growers, for use in orchard and vineyard. The plow is 
attached to the steel yoke by a chain running between the horses. With 
them it is possible to work quite close to the trees and vines, and is es- 
pecially desirable in the vineyard in working close to the vines when 
they have grown out about two feet, which is a difficult job with the 
old-style harness. 

SUMMER TREATMENT OF PLOWED ORCH.\RU AND 

VINEYARD 

Where the orchard or vineyard is plowed twice iluring the winter, 
the land should remain after the first plowing as the plow leaves it. 
The moistening and aeration during the winter have a good efifect upon 
the soil both chemically and mechanically. 

If but one plowing is done, when the chief rains are supposed to be 
over, there must be full effort ])ut forth to reduce the soil to good tilth, 
and to level the surface as much as possible. This is done by harrowing 
with one of the several im])roved harrows which are now generally in- 
troduced and found very effective. They act in cultivating, clod crush- 
ing, and leveling, in a most satisfactory manner. They are too well 
known to need description. Each has its advocates and its adaptations 
to certain soils. As with plows, so with harrows and cultivators, the best 
for one soil may not be the best for another, and local inquiry among 
experienced fruit growers will be the best guide for the newcomer. In 
addition to the excellent implements brought from the Eastern States, 
there are others of California invention and manufacture which have 
very marked local adaptations, and almost every fruit region in Cali- 
fornia has some embodiment of local inventive genius in the form of 
implements of tillage. 

The secret of success in handling the heavier soils in spring working- 
is to secure as perfect surface pulverization as possible without com- 
pacting the soil. Light soils need a certain amount of firming after 



152 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

plowing, or else there is too free access of air and too great drying out. 
For these and other reasons, the grower has to study his soil and learn 
from observation the methods which succeed best with it. The practice 
which gave success under certain conditions might not be well adapted 
under other conditions. The use of the roller is a striking example of 
this fact. In some orchards the roller is a benefit, in others a decided 
injury. Its chief effect is compacting the surface layer, which is only 
desirable on very coarse open soils. The long-tooth harrow accom- 
plishes a very marked compacting of the soil to the depth it reaches, 
and often settles the lower layer too closely and causes it to run 
together too solidly if rain follows. The modern cultivators, clod- 
crushers, disk-harrows, etc., are superior in efifect, each in the soil to 
which its action is most desirable. 

After working down the soil after plowing, the cultivator is relied 
upon to kill the weeds, break up the crust which may form after spring 
rains or after irrigation, and to prevent the compacting of the surface 
layer of the soil from any causes. 



CULTIVATION WITHOUT PLOWING 

There are orchards in California which have not been plowed for 
years — in some cases the plow has not been used since the trees were 
planted. Instances of this kind are to be found both in irrigated and 
unirrigated land. It depends largely upon the mechanical condition 
and disposition of the soil whether the practice will give satisfactory 
results. It can not be trusted on land prone to develop hardpan, as 
has already been considered, and yet the term "cultivation" has taken 
such a wide range in this State, and the tools have reached such effi- 
ciency, that there is not as much difference as formerly between the 
plow and the cultivator, except that the former turns the soil and the 
latter stirs without turning. For some who oppose the use of the plow, 
use a chisel-tooth cultivator, cutting to a depth of eight inches in the 
spring, but at other times of the year they are not more than half as 
deep. This treatment would tend to dispose of hardpan. However 
this may be, and what the special nature of their soils, there are fruit 
growers, both in northern and southern California, who have for years 
trusted almost wholly to the cultivator, cutting to a depth of three or 
four inches, and keep their orchards throughout the year almost in the 
same state of tilth, never allowing a weed to grow. This practice is, 
however, becoming less prevalent, and for certain soils the question is 
practically settled in the minds of nearly all orchardists, while for other 
soils there is still doubt. For the heavier soils, which continuous shal- 
low cultivation is apt to render too compact, it is necessary to have re- 
course to the plow to open the land for proper aeration and penetration 
of moisture which otherwise would be largely lost by surface run-off. 



SURFACE PULVERIZATION 153 

The lighter soils do not require this and they seem to do well with con- 
tinuous use of the cultivator. It is beginning to be clearly seen, how- 
ever, that this treatment tends toward the decrease of the humus and 
the consequent impoverishment of the soil. Its water-holding capacity 
is also lessened. These facts have induced some growers to change 
their practice and to take up the plow during late winter or early spring 
to cover in the growth of green stuff which they allow to grow instead 
of frequently destroying it with the winter use of the cultivator. Either 
the fall and spring plowing, or both, followed by the summer use of 
the cultivator, is the most rational and satisfactory practice for most of 
our deciduous orchards, though there are local conditions and circum- 
stances under which different procedure is preferable. 



SUMMER CULTIVATION 

Whatever the winter policy may be, the essential point in summer 
cultivation is to preserve the surface layer of pulvericcd earth. It will 
not do to have a few inches of clods, from the size of a pea to that of 
a goose egg, resting on a hard surface. The finer the pulverization the 
shallower can be the surface layer, and vice versa, and this is probably 
one reason why in practice the work of the plow is, in so many situa- 
tions, found the best foundation upon which to rest the years' cultiva- 
tion. 

In order to secure this finely-pulverized layer, it is sometimes neces- 
sary to use what is called a "rubber," where there are many clods which 
are merely displaced by the harrow or cultivator. There are different 
styles, and they are generally home-made. The most common form is 
made of two-inch plank in lengths of three or four feet, bolted or 
spiked to pieces of four-by-four-inch scantling running crosswise, the 
edges of the planks lapped like the clapboards which are used for 
weather boarding. As these edges are drawn over the surface, the 
clods are rubbed into tilth if they are not too hard and dry. 

But this rubbing may be very undesirable if it leaves the surface 
smooth and polished. It may reflect the sunheat even to tree-burning, 
and is apt to form an evaporating surface, which is most to be avoided. 
The best finish for the land is that produced by a light, fine-toothed 
harrow, and an attachment of this kind is provided with various clod 
crushers and cultivators. The result is a surface of loose earth, fiat and 
fine, which approaches very closely an ideal condition. 

There is less difference than formerly in the use of the harrow or 
cultivator during the summer. Still some are content to use the culti- 
vator only as a weed-killer, and after the weeds cease to grow and the 
spring showers are over, the cultivator is laid aside and the land left 
unstirred until the following winter. This, of course, refers to unirri- 
gated ground, for wherever irrigation is practised a cultivator must 



154 CALIFORXIA FRCITS: TIOW TO GROW THE^f 

follow, except on hillsides where the surface is left undisturbed after 
the irrigation furrows are made until the beginning of the dry season. 
It is a fact, however, that even if no rain falls, the soil becomes com- 
pacted to a certain degree, and the best way to imprison the greatest 
possible amount of moisture below is to run the cultivator at intervals 
all through the dry season. It should run shallow and only stir the sur- 
face layer. The experience of the most successful growers is that fre- 
quent stirring without, however, bringing new soil to the air, is the 
best-paying practice. 

WHAT IS THOROUGH CULTIVATION 

As clean, thorough cultivation has been approved, it may be desir- 
able to attempt to define the term. It can, however, only be approxi- 
mately done, because of the great difference in individual views and 
practices. Some indication of the operations which are contemplated 
may be had in the following specifications upon which contracts have 
been let for care of orchard : First, plowing away from the trees, fol- 
lowed by harrowing; second, plowing toward the trees, followed by 
harrowing ; ten summer workings with cultivator ; three workings with 
shallow cultivator or weed-cutter; five hand hoeings around the trees. 
The contract intends the most complete and perfect working of the soil 
and specifies the above merely that there may be no difference of opin- 
ion between owner and contractor. 

In cases where the land is infected with morning-glory, weekly cul- 
tivation is stipulated for in some cases, and this seems about the only 
way to cope with this formidable trespasser. 

CULTIVATION FOR WEED KILLING 

Cultivation for weed killing is a minor consideration in California, 
because cultivation for moisture conservation effectually disposes of 
most of them, and weeds do not start readily in the earth-mulch 
during the dry season. There are, however, a few most persistent pests 
which require heroic measures. Johnson grass and morning-glory are 
the most prominent of these. The only successful treatment consists in 
cutting constantly with a weed-cutter (a sharp horizontal knife), ope- 
rated so as to pass under the whole surface and run so often that the 
plant is never allowed to show a shoot on the surface. It is of no use 
merely to cultivate or "weed-cut" as for other weeds. This spreads 
the pest more and more ; but if the rising shoots are continually cut 
under the surface, and never allowed to get the light, it will kill the 
plant surely, but it may take two seasons to do it. Weed-cutting knives 
of this description are usually contrived by local smiths and are attached 
to sleds or fitted with plow handles, or used with a pair of thills and 



MULCH IXC INFERIOR TO CLT.TIVATION* 155 

cultivator handles or other rigging as the operator may choose. The 
vital point is a blade of sheet steel, very sharp, and rigged to rnn just 
under the surface. It must be used as often as once each week. 



MULCHING A SUBSTITUTE FOR CULTIVATION 

The use of a mulch or covering of the ground with a litter of hght 
materials to prevent evaporation, is practised to a small extent in this 
State. Though mainly used for berries of different kinds, recourse has 
also been had to mulching by vineyardists. The materials used are va- 
rious, such as partly-rotted .straw, coarse manure, damaged hay, corn- 
husks, corn-stalks, vine prunings and leaves, and even fine brush from 
adjacent thickets. The practice has been found of greatest value on 
hillsides where cultivation is difficult, and danger of washing of loose 
soil is great. There are cases where vines have l)een grown several 
years in this way to the satisfaction of the owner. The danger of fire 
in our dry climate when the surface is covered to a depth of several 
inches with a dry mulch is considerable. As a rule, the mulch employed 
by the California grower is a perfect pulverization of the surface soil. 



CHAPTER XIV 
FERTILIZERS FOR TREES AND VINES 

It was a popular doctrine among early Calif ornians that California 
soils would never need fertilization, and that there is something in our 
soil and climate which releases us forever from repaying anything to 
the ground -for the wealth of produce which we take from it. Such a 
view is, of course, without foundation, and yet it is not difficult to see 
how it arose. Early attempts to enrich the soil by the turning under 
of coarse stable manure, as is done in other countries, was undertaken 
here on light soil in a region rather short of rainfall. The manure did 
not decompose, and its coarse materials made a soil, already too light 
to retain moisture well, so open and porous that its moisture was quickly 
carried away by evaporation, and crops did not grow so well as upon 
adjacent land which had not been manured. So the fiat went forth 
against manure. The corrals* became undisturbed guano deposits, and 
manure piles were fired in dry weather to get the soil poison out of the 
way. Innumerable tons of bones were gathered and ground in San 
Francisco and shipped away to countries which need fertilizers. Nature 
did much to foster the popular delusion, for field crops were gloriously 
large, and trees and vines grew rampantly and bore fruit the weight of 
which they were unable to sustain. How could there be more conclu- 
sive evidence that manure was a detriment to California soils? 

A few decades of experience have swept away such fallacies and 
now California growers, especially those handling citrus fruits, are not 
only freely investing in commercial fertilizers but are buying and ship- 
ping considerable distances all available animal manures. They are also 
untiring students of the art of fertilization and the sciences underlying 
it. It was in response to their demand that the California 'Legislature 
of 1903 passed a fertilizer control law giving the University Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station regulation of the trade in fertilizing materials. 
All dealers are required to register and submit samples of their brands 
and there is constant inspection to detect departures. Semi-annual re- 
ports are published for public information and these, with special in- 
structions for taking samples when purchasers desire analyses on their 
own account, can be had by application to the Experiment Station at 
Berkeley. The total amount of sales reported under the law for the 
year ending June 30, 1911, was 46,000 tons. 

It is foreign to our purpose to discuss the general subject of the use 
of fertilizers in California, and the changes in belief and practice which 
have recently gained ground. Of course, the marked falling off in the 
yield of shallow-rooting cereals gave the first unmistakable intimation 
that there was something wrong about the old theory of the perpetual 

* Inclosures for live stock of any kind. 

156 



THE USE OF FERTILIZERS 157 

youth of California soils. The lands used for fruit are sometimes slow 
to show exhaustion, because trees are deep feeders, and the soils, as they 
are often the very best and deepest of the State, selected for fruit be- 
cause of that very character, possess, in an eminent degree lasting 
properties, as is shown in the chapter on the fruit soils of California. 
But certain of these soils are already showing the need of refreshment, 
and intelligent growers are quick to minister to the lands which are 
giving them such generous returns, as they can well afford to do. 



WHEN IS FERTILIZATION NECESSARY? 

Though the use of fertilizers by our fruit growers is beginning, it 
should be plainly stated that at present, except perhaps with citrus 
fruit trees, or the oldest orchards of other fruits, it is not yet the rule 
that such applications are necessary. There are some soils which are 
really too rich for fruit. There is sometimes an over-rank growth of 
wood, which delays or prevents the formation of fruit buds, and there 
is a marvelous development of fruit which is inconsistent with the high- 
est quality. For this reason the grower should not conclude, from the 
foregoing general remarks concerning the need of fertilization in Cali- 
fornia, that he must manure his soil whether it needs it or not. Espe- 
cially is this the case with young trees, in which the wood growth is 
easily over-stimulated. As with irrigation, so in fertilization ; the tree or 
vine itself will give the observing grower hints as to its needs, and if the 
growth of wood and color of foliage are such as obviously indicate 
health and vigor, it may be concluded that the plant needs nothing but 
good cultivation and intelligent pruning. 

Usually cases of over-rich ground will cure themselves as the trees 
attain size and full bearing, and it is then that fertilization may be neces- 
sary. When the tree or vine which has been properly pruned and cul- 
tivated is not able to mature a good weight of well-developed fruit, and 
make a satisfactory wood growth, usually at the same time showing 
some degree of distress by the color of its foliage, it needs help; and 
if the grower is sure that the trouble is not from lack of moisture in 
the soil, he should bestir himself in the manuring of his orchard or 
vineyard. In examining the soil for moisture, one should dig deeply, 
for there have been cases of moisture near the surface, and drouth be- 
low. 

WHAT FERTILIZERS APPLY TO FRUIT TREES 
AND VINES 

A discussion of this subject from a chemist's point of view is 
beyond the scope of this volume. The results of research at the 
University Experiment Station at Berkeley are summarized in the 



158 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

treatise on soils by Dr. E. W. Hilgard, who maintains the position 
that the most intelligent and economical choice of fertilizers is to 
be made after ascertaining by analysis in what constituents the 
soil is deficient and in what it is well supplied. Some applications 
made in conformity with suggestions based upon analysis have 
proved very satisfactory. But as soils vary within narrow limits 
of area, there must be analysis for each soil in question. 

Approaching the matter of choosing fertilizers without soil 
analysis, the method by local trial is open. In this recourse there 
is danger of error, as pointed out by Dr. Hilgard, arising from local 
differences in soil and subsoil,' and must be checked by several 
check plots so interposed between the others as to not only check 
them by direct comparison, and to prevent the washing of fertilizers 
from one fertilized plot to another, but they must also be com- 
pared, first of all, among themselves, to determine what is the nor- 
mal product of the unfertilized land. It will frequently be found 
that these unfertilized check plots differ more widely between them- 
selves than do the fertilized ones from them or from each other. 
It usually takes several seasons to come to definite results. 

From these statements it must appear that the prescription of 
fertilizers is not an easy matter. Disappointments will naturally 
be encountered, but unquestionably the advantage is on the side 
of patient trial and wise investment in fertilizers honestly made 
and honestly sold. The observing grower must learn all that 
he can from experience. It is obviously the duty of the grower to 
constantly study fertilizer questions as presented in books and 
journals and to be alert for observation of the behavior of his own 
trees with the applications he may make. The publications of re- 
sponsible fertilizer manufacturers and dealers, also convey import- 
ant information When read discriminately. 

Though the deficiencies of the soil, as learned by analysis, or by 
practical test, must be the basis of prescription of fertilizers, the 
analyses of fruits, as showing the special needs of the plants, are 
of the highest importance. The following analyses of the different 
fruits, containing in each case, skin, pulp, and seeds, are almost 
entirely from California-grown specimens, and are supposed to 
represent an aA'erage composition of the fruits named. 



Potash 


Lime 


Phosphoric Acid 


Nitrogen 


Pounds 


Pounds 


Pounds 


Pounds. 


9.95 


1.04 


2.04 


7.01 


3.01 


.16 


.66 


1.94 


1.40 


.11 


.33 


1.05 


6.80 


.10 


.17 


.97 


2.77 


.20 


.72 


2.29 


3.67 


1.20 


1.58 


6.40 


4.69 


.85 


.86 


2.38 


2.55 


.25 


.11 


1.26 


2.54 


1.55 


.58 


1.51 


9.11 


2.43 


1.25 


5.60 


2.11 


.97 


.53 


1.83 


3.94* 


.14* 


.85* 


1.20* 


1.34 


.19 


.34 


.90 


3.10 


.22 


.68 


1.82 


3.41* 


.25* 


.75* 


1.81 


8.18 


1.55 


1.47 


5.41 



AVHAT FKKTILIZKR.S .\RE NEEDED 159 

Quantities of soil ingredients withdrawn by various fruits 

Compiled from analyses by G. E. Colby, University of California. 

Fresh Fruit Total Ash 

1000 pounds Pounds 

Almondst 17.29 

Apricots 5.08 

Apples 2.64 

Bananas 10.78 

Cherries 4.82 

Chestnutst 9.52 

Figs 7.81 

Grapes 5.00 

Lemons 5.26 

Olives 13.50 

Oranges 4.32 

Peaches 5.30 

Pears 2.50 

Prunes, French 4.86 

Plums 5.35 

Walnutst 12.98 

t Including hulls. * Estimated. 



FIRST AID TO THE INJURED SOIL 

Based upon the clear characteristics of California soils as already 
indicated in the chapter on that subject, Dr. Hilgard advises that any 
large-scale fertilization should begin with phosphates and nitrogen, 
and, should this not prove fully satisfactory, then with potash also, this 
being the order in which these substances are likely to become deficient 
in most of our soils under cultivation. In the course of time potash fer- 
tilization will become widely necessary in this State ; in fact some Cali- 
fornia soils are naturally deficient in potash. 



AVAIL.ABLE SUPPLIES OF PHOSPHATES 

Phosphatic manures which are clearly promotive of freer fruiting 
of trees and vines, are now being supplied to fruit growers by im- 
porters and manufacturers located in various California cities, and re- 
sults attained by their use are such as to warrant continuance. They 
are bone and rock phosphates, which are transformed into superphos- 
phates, and with nitrogenous matter added, serve as good applications 
both for growth and fruiting. 

Home-Made Bone Manures.^]\Iuch good bone manure can be 
made by collecting bones, heads, horns, feet, etc., from butchers' shops 
or elsewhere. How to make such material available, by simple pro- 
ceedings, is described by Prof. Hilgard as follows: 

1. Bones put into a well-kept (moistened) manure pile will themselves 
gradually decay and disappear, enricbing the manure to that extent. 



160 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

2. Raw bones may be bodily buried in the soil around the trees; if 
placed at a sufficient depth, beyond the reach of the summer's heat and 
drouth and cultivating tools, the rootlets will cluster around each piece, and, 
in course of a few years, consume it entirely. 

3. Bones may be packed in moist wood ashes, best mixed with a little 
quick-lime, the mass kept moist but never dripping. In a few months the 
hardest bones will be reduced to a fine mush, which is as eflfectual as super- 
phosphate. Concentrated lye and soil may be used instead of ashes. In this 
process the nitrogen of the bones is lost, going off in the form of ammonia, 
the odor of which is very perceptible in the tank used. 

For neither of these processes should the bones be burned. The burning 
of bones is an unqualified detriment to their eflfectiveness, which can only be 
undone by the use of sulphuric acid. 

4. Bones steamed for three or four hours in a boiler under a pressure of 
thirty-five to fifty pounds, can, after drying, be readily crushed in an ordi- 
nary barley-crushing mill, and thus be rendered more convenient for use. 
Practically, very little of the nitrogen (glue) of the bones need be thus lost 



POTASH 

Thoug-h, as already stated, potash is commonly in good supply 
in California soils, it is very clear from experience that additions 
of potash, perhaps in more available form, are advisable. The 
fruit analyses already given show that the use of this substance 
by fruit trees and vines is very large. Recent experiments also 
ihow that potash ministers directly to the quality of the fruit in 
some cases. Ashes from wood fires are the most available source 
of potash, but it is a mistake to regard wood ashes as valuable 
only for their potash contents. Professor Storer has found by 
analysis of a number of samples of house ashes, that selected sam- 
ples contain 8j^ per cent of real potash, and 2 per cent of phos- 
phoric acid, or say 4^ pounds of potash and one pound of phos- 
phoric per bushel. Hence there is enough potash and phosphoric 
acid to make a bushel of ashes worth twenty or twenty-five cents, 
and besides that, some ten or fifteen cents additional may be al- 
lowed for the "alkali power" of the ashes, i. e., the force of alka- 
linity which enables ashes to rot weeds and to ferment peat. 

These facts sug-gest to the fruit grower that he should carefully 
preserve all home-made wood ashes and apply them to the soil 
at once, or, if stored for future application, be sure that they are 
kept dry. Leached ashes from the lye barrel, or ashes from 
open piles, leached by rains, are hardly worth handling. Coal 
ashes are almost devoid of fertilizing properties, though, if finely 
divided, as in the case of coals burning completely, their use is 
beneficial, mechanically, on clay soils, in the same way that fine 
sand would be. 

The chief supplies of potash salts are now brought from Ger- 
many and are in the hands of local dealers, but there are extensive 
deposits in Utah, New Mexico, and elsewhere in the interior, which 
can be employed when railroads make them available. 



OFFICES OF NITROGEN 161 

NITROGEN 

Nitrogen ministers directly to the vegetative activity of the 
plant and this is a wonderful stimulant of wood growth and foliage. 
Supplies of this substance can be had from animal manures, which 
will be considered later. The effect of stable manure upon the soil 
and the plant is notably strengthening and restorative. For this 
reason money and effort are often well expended in securing it 
even beyond the cost of the equivalent of the plant food which it 
contains. Another natural form of nitrogen in cover crops or green 
manures will be discussed presently. Of commercial forms of 
nitrogen, tankage and dried blood are highly esteemed for orchard 
use, and there is large use also of Chile saltpeter, which contains 
about sixteen per cent of nitrogen, in immediately available form. 
From one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds per acre is the 
usual application. Sulphate of ammonia is another available source 
of nitrogen obtainable in commerce ; a good commercial article 
contains twenty per cent and over of nitrogen. It does not, how- 
ever, act quite as rapidly as the Chile saltpeter. A suggestion of 
caution in the use of nitrogenous manures will be given presently. 



LIME, GYPSUM AND MARL 

Lime is another substance usually abundant in California soils, 
but still often desirable as an application. This is, notably, the 
case on our heavy clays or adobes, where, as has already been 
mentioned in another connection, the use of lime as a top dressing, 
at the rate of six hundred to one thousand pounds to the acre, not 
only makes the heavy soil more friable, but acts upon and makes 
available the large amount of organic matter which such soils 
usually contain. Lime also renders inorganic materials more avail- 
able for plant food, corrects acidity, and may destroy insects and 
fungi. Application of lime is also desirable after applications of 
barnyard manure have been made for several years ; and it is 
especially valuable wherever, in alluvial soils rich in vegetable 
matter, there is an excessive growth of wood and leaf. Usually 
light soils are not materially benefited by the use of lime. 

Ground limestone is sometimes proposed as a fertilizer, and has 
even been offered on the market. It is insoluble and inert carbonate 
of lime, and is not worth the cost of hauling any distance. It can 
not take the place of burned limestone. 

Gypsum. — Gypsum, or land plaster (sulphate of lime), occurs 
in considerable quantities in this State and Nevada, and is now 
being mined and ground at a low price in the San Joaquin Valley. 
It acts directly in correcting soils made alkaline by presence of 



162 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

carbonate of soda. Applied to soils not alkaline, gypsum sets free 
potash, magnesia, and ammonia, which may be present in insoluble 
form ; and it also causes potash to be transferred from the upper 
to the lower layers of the soil, so that roots can everywhere find 
a store of it. Hence its special value when applied to deep-rooting 
plants. The reason why gypsum is so capricious in its action, which 
was long a mystery, is now held to be clear, because upon soils 
that are tolerably rich in fixed potash it will do good service, while 
upon soils poor in potash it will not. In any event gypsum is to 
be regarded as an excitant rather than as a form of plant food. 

Of the several uses of gypsum, probably its chief value lies in 
its power as an absorbent. If added to manure in excess it delays 
fermentation, and it is, therefore, not a desirable addition to the 
compost heap. But for covering fermenting manures or scattering 
around moist places in horse and cow stables to absorb odors and 
fix volatile manurial substances it is of value. 

Marls. — Marl is a calcareous earth, and is called shell marl, rock 
marl, earthy marls, etc., according to its origin and mechanical 
condition. A number of samples from different parts of the State 
have been analyzed by Professor Hilgard and some of them com- 
mended for local application to soils needing lime, but not valuable 
enough to warrant hauling far. Marl which sometimes occurs in 
California too near the surface is injurious to trees, causing yellow 
leaf and die back when reached by the roots. 



BARNYARD MANURE AND COMPOST 

Where fruit growing is carried on with stock growing, there are 
abundant supplies of manure available, but this combination is not 
characteristic of California, though prevailing to some extent, and 
likely to be more prevalent as fruit planting extends farther from 
the centers which are wholly given to it. But even in the fruit 
centers there are certain amounts of material available from the 
animals that are kept for cultivation and hauling, or to be had, 
often, for the expense of hauling from adjacent towns. 

As already stated, coarse, unrotted manure can seldom be used 
to advantage in this State, unless it be in heavy soils in regions of 
ample rainfall, or on lighter soils, perhaps, if well irrigated ; and 
even in such situations either finely divided or well-rotted manure 
is superior. Corral scrapings, which are usually the first resource 
when the idea of manuring springs up in a neighborhood, are not 
always well decomposed, but they are finel)'- divided, and therefore 
decompose readily as compared with coarse straw, Avhich, it is said, 
has been found practically unchanged even after lying two years 
in a dry, loose soil. It is, therefore, of the greatest advantage to 



TREATMENT OF STABLE MANURES 163 

prepare barnyard manure with care for use in this State by some 
such method as will be described below, which includes composting, 
thereby turning to account nearly all organic material likely to be 
available. 

Clean up all the manure on hand just before the fall rains, putting the 
same on the land, and either cultivate it in or plow it under. What manure 
accumulates during the winter pile in a snug heap some five or six feet in 
depth, and throw it over some three or four times during the winter to keep 
it from burning, as well as to thoroughly mix it and thereby hasten decom- 
position. Put horse, cow, hog. chicken, and every other kind of manure that 
can be had, all together. Never burn anything that will rot, but haul to the 
pile corn-stalks, roots, and all squash, melon, tomato, and potato vines, etc., 
as well as weeds of every description, in fact, anything and everything that 
will decay and make vegetable matter. Use fresh horse manure mostly to 
hasten the decomposition of said vines, weeds, etc., alternating as the heap 
is made. By so doing there will not be a weed seed left with vitality enough 
to germinate. It is well to have manure niles under a roof to avoid leaching 
during the longest and most excessive rains, but so situated that some of the 
rain falling on the barn can be easily conducted to the piles, giving them 
just the amount of water nccessarj' to wet thoroughly without leaching, and 
no more. 

Treatment of Manure Without Composting. — Even when com- 
posting all refuse vegetable matter with the manure is not thought 
worth the time and trouble, it is just as important to properly treat 
the manure when stored alone. This can be easily done by some 
such plan as is described below: 

Collect the stable manure in a large bin and keep it wet enough to pre- 
vent burning or "fire-fanging." With a bin, say ten or twelve feet square 
and five or six feet high, built convenient to the barn, the manure can be 
placed therein and watered from time to time with much less trouble than 
it can be composted with other material. This, of course, presupposes the 
ability to run the water through a hose or by natural flow. Care must, of 
course, be taken that too much water be not supplied, causing the substance 
to be leached from the pile. But in my own experience I find the danger 
is at the other extreme, and when I open my pile I sometimes wish I had 
used more water. In filling the bin leave one end or side open as long as 
possible, for convenience of filling. 

liarnyard manure and compost carefully prepared in some such 
way as described, and applied before the rains or early in the rainy 
season, to be turned under at the first plowing, will be in condition 
to be readily assimilated, and will not injure any soil. Where no 
composting is undertaken it is rational to apply the manure during 
the rainy season directly to the land if the rainfall is not large and 
the land fit to haul over. During the dry season the manure can 
be spread in the corral and tramped into dust by the stock because 
as long as it remains dry no losses by fermentation can occur. 
Near the end of the dry season, the corral should be scraped and 
all the material spread on the land. In this way the cost and 
trouble of manure piles can be avoided. 



164 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Sheep Manure. — The proximity of the orange orchards of South- 
ern Cahfornia to extensive sheep ranges led to large use of the 
manure from sheep corrals until supplies were practically exhausted. 
Afterwards large deposits in the San Joaquin Valley were opened 
and the material, which has shown value by analysis in one case 
of above $14 per ton. is finely ground and placed upon the market 
in a business way. One deposit mined for several years by George 
C. Roeding & Co., of Fresno, was several acres in extent, and at 
some points the material was ten feet deep. Such deposits can seldom 
be found now except in remote parts of the State. 

Sheep manure is usually counted richer and quicker, though not so 
lasting in its efifects, as stable manure. Being highly nitrogenous, 
too free use of sheep manure tends to excessive growth of wood, 
especially on young trees. Old bearing trees may be benefitted by 
such a stimulant. 

VARIOUS WASTE PRODUCTS 

The care advised in saving and treating barnyard manure, hen 
manure, bones, ashes, etc., should be extended to other waste 
products of the farm. Soapsuds should be allowed to run to adja- 
cent trees unless used in the flower garden, but not too long upon 
the same trees, for it may kill them. Peelings and corings of fruti, 
cut for drying, should be fed to pigs and the resulting manure 
secured. It is not wise to corral the swine in a dry run in the 
summer and allow the manure to be sluiced out by the winter rise 
of the stream. 

Prunings. — Prunings of the orchard and vineyard should be 
burned between the rows, in small piles, so as to distribute the 
ashes well. Danger to adjacent trees may be avoided by using the 
portable, home-made tin shields on the sides of the fires. It is not 
wise to carry all the prunings to the side of the highway and burn 
them there and allow the ashes to be lost. Vineyard prunings are 
sometimes cut up with an arrangement like a straw-cutter, which 
reduces them to bits about an inch in length. They are then scat- 
tered over the surface of the ground, turned under at the next 
plowing, and soon decay. Where, through lightness of soil and 
short rainfall, the woody fiber does not readily decay, burning upon 
an iron sled about ten feet long are practised. At its front is a 
V-shaped iron rod, to which a horse can be hitched. On the sled 
are flaring sheet-iron sides and perforated bottom. This is filled 
with brush, a fire kindled, and as the horse moves forward fresh 
brush is added, while the ashes by its motion are sifted out very 
evenly all over the vineyard. 

Refuse from Wineries. — The fermented husks, stems, and seeds, 



USING WASTE MATERIALS 165 

all containing- valuable fertilizing- properties, are often spread on 
the road and in holes, where it is of no account whatever. If 
scattered over the vineyard, much valuable substance would be 
returned to the soil. In some soils application of raw refuse would 
be undesirable because of the aridity developed. It is usually safe 
on calacerous soils, and for other soils should be composted with 
lime or wood ashes to facilitate decay and neutralization of the 
acid. Of winery refuse the lees are especially valuable because of 
the supplies of potash they contain, but they are now being largely 
used in the manufacture of tartaric acid. 

Other Waste Products. — There are available from various 
manufactories different waste products which can not be specified. 
When any such material comes to the notice of the fruit grower, 
he should seek advice from the Agricultural Experiment Station, 
at Berkeley, as to the probable value of the material, and its special 
uses. 

CAUTION IN USE OF FERTILIZERS 

Besides the injunction already given against application of 
fertilizers when the soil is already quite rich enough to produce 
good fruit and plenty of it, it should be noted that manures unduly 
rich in animal matter should be used with caution, as they may 
over-stimulate the plant, delay or reduce fruiting, injure the quality 
of the fruit, and possibly engender disease in the tree or vine. 
Monstrous size and puffiness of oranges is clearly due in come cases 
to excess nitrogenous manures. Excessive use of soluble fertilizers 
like nitrate of soda may kill plants or trees outright. 

The effect of excessive use of stable manures, or other manures 
very rich in nitrogen, upon the products of the vine has been fer- 
quently noted as destructive to bouquet and quality. 



METHODS OF APPLYING FERTILIZERS 

Suggestions concerning proper application of barnyard manures, 
both to young trees at planting and to bearing trees and vines, have 
already been given. The same conditions which cause slow decom- 
position of stable manures apply to any fertilizing material which 
is not readily soluble in water. All such material should be in a 
finely divided state. Surface applications of ground bone will, in 
the dry climate of California, lie practically unchanged for a long 
period. Ground bone should be plowed in as deeply as can be done 
without injury to the roots of trees and vines, and then, if the 
surface is kept cultivated, it will lie in moist strata and decompose, 
or be seized by the searching rootlets. On the other hand, super- 



166 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO CROW THEM 

phosphate, or other really soluble cliemical fertilizers, will produce 
immediate results, and can be most economically used on light and 
easily permeable soils, on which falling" water sinks and does not 
flow over the surface. In leachy soils a part of such fertilizers 
might be carried down beyond the reach of shallow-rooting plants, 
but there is little danger of this in the case of trees and vines. 

When superphosphate is used on irrigated ground, it is some- 
times drilled in to prevent its being carried along with the running 
water. One way is to run a chisel-tooth cultivator ahead of the 
grain-seed drill and to distribute and drill in the fertilizer as deep 
as feasible to do without injuring the roots. Spring application of 
fertilizers are conveniently made by spreading upon the vegetation 
which is plowed under at that season. 

Manures with Irrigation Water. — Distribution of fertilizers by 
using the flow of irrigation water is described by A. S. Chapman, 
as follows : 

We shovel sheep manure into the irrigating ditches, allowing each tret 
to receive about twenty-five pounds at each separate irrigation. Our basins 
cover the entire surface of the ground. We make no effort to choke such 
weeds as clover, alfilerilla, and the like; but the irrigator with his hoe de- 
stroys the obnoxious nightshade, hoarhound, and nettle. 

In the fall of the year we follow with copious liming — about three barrels 
of unslacked lime to the acre — applied in the following manner at the head 
of our irrigating ditch: We plant a box about three feet wide, six feet long, 
two feet deep, and six inches under the surface of the running water. In it 
we place a barrel of the lime. It slacks and swells to twice its original bulk. 
A man stands on this with his hoe and sees that the water carries it off 
evenly. With an irrigating head such as we use, a man will run into the 
ditch four barrels a day, or about three barrels to the acre. We have a con- 
siderable fall, and the water runs very rapidly; but it takes up all the lime, 
and the water runs white, like milk. 

We now leave the orange orchard till spring, when we plow under the 
weeds, manure and lime. We thus aim to supply our soil with nitrate of lime, 
potash and magnesia. Carbonic acid gas is absorbed by the water and 
attacks the inert plant food in the soil; hard-pan is prevented both by the 
mechanical effects of the vegetable matter and the lime. 

The basin method of irrigation, to which allusion is made, will 
be more fully described in the following chapter. 



FERTILIZING MATTERS IN IRRIGATION WATER 

Water used for irrigation may carry in solution injurious sub- 
stances, as, for example, alkali, as will be noted in the following 
chapter; or it may carry very valuable fertilizing properties. These 
facts can only be determined by analysis. Professor Hilgard has 
found that the water of one creek in Alameda county carries to the 
land it irrigates about half a grain of potash in each gallon, which 
means that if twelve inches of such water were used on the ground 



^fANUR^:s in irrigation water 167 

during the season, each acre would receive therefrom about twenty 
pounds of fully available potash. At Riverside a crop of oranges 
requires about forty-two pounds of potash per acre, of which the 
amount the irrigation water used in that case contained thirty-five 
pounds, beside other matters required by plants. These things have 
a definite cash value in the market ; and this value the irrigator 
gets as a free gift in addition to the water. Even in the case of the 
Nile, the sediment is only part of the sum of fertility conveyed by 
the river. 

GREEN MANURING OR COVER CROPS 

Green manuring consists in plowing under a growth of weeds 
or a sown crop to secure by its decay a contribution of humus to 
the soil. Plants grown for this purpose are currently called "cover 
crops" because they cover the soil instead of allowing it to remain 
bare in "clean culture" of orchard or "bare fallow" of grain fields. 

All plants by their decay in the soil add organic matter to it, 
and this matter is of nitrogenous character, but leguminous plants 
do this and a great deal more, through their exclusive ability to 
use atmospheric nitrogen gathered by the bacteria which cause 
nodules upon their roots. There is also special value in deep-rooting 
legume in soil amelioration. There is now reason to believe, as has 
already been stated, that where moisture is ample for both alfalfa 
and trees we shall come to using this plant for a permanent cover 
of orchard ground as a substitute for the clean culture which is now 
observed. This is, in fact, already being successfully done to some 
extent. It is also probable that alfalfa can be used for a certain 
time even when its permanent stand is not desirable, for it is not 
diflfiicult to destroy alfalfa with a well-sharpened plow, although the 
roots may have attained considerable thickness. Of course this, 
as already stated, depends upon moisture supply; where that is not 
abundant, clean culture for moisture conservation is unavoidable. 
But where moisture in excess of the needs of the trees is available it 
will be used in future indirectly for their benefit in ways we are 
only just beginning to discern, and one of these is likely to be the 
summer growth of legumes in the orchard. Cow peas on moist or 
irrigated lands may be used in this way. 

A summer cover crop in California is, however, largely a matter 
for future determination, and under ordinary conditions may never 
be practicable. The wider problem is to secure the best leguminous 
plant which will make a heavy growth during the winter months, 
so that it can be plowed in early in spring, and the ground put in 
shape for the thorough surface pulverization to prevent evaporation 
of moisture during our long, dry summer. For this reason we can 
not use many plants which are used for green-manuring in humid 



168 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 




Lemon orchard under clean culture. 




Winter view of lemon orchard with cover crop of vetches. 



SERVICES OF COVER CROPS 169 

climates. Crimson clover, cow peas, etc., do not make good winter 
growth unless the temperature is relatively high and frosts few 
and light. They make exuberant growth for a time in the spring 
when heat is adequate and moisture abundant, but at that time it 
is too late to grow corps for plowing under because the soil is too 
dry for their decay and their presence tends otherwise to the loss 
of moisture and makes it very difificult to secure a good surface 
tilth. The greatest care must be had not to allow a growth either 
of cover crop or of weeds to stand too long or its covering will do 
more harm than good. Hardy legumes are therefore the desider- 
atum both for winter forage and green-manuring. The common 
"burr clover" {Medicago denticiilata) is proving very satisfactory in 
some parts of the State, the "Canadian field pea," the winter vetch, 
the hairy vetch and fenugreek are coming into quite wide use in 
orchards in different parts of the State. Which plant is best in 
any locality must be determined by its local behavior. In some 
places native lupines make a good natural cover crop. 

A Matter of Local Study. — The recourse to cover crops in the 
orchard or vineyard should be approached with a disposition to 
careful study and experiment. Unless it is done in the right way 
it is likely to be disappointing and the right way involves both the 
selection of the best legumes and the best ways to grow them. 
Scant growth, cloddy soil, loss of moisture and condemnation of 
the practice are likely to result from ill-considered methods. On 
the other hand, success with cover crops results in such numerous 
and important advantages that the wide introduction of them must 
be looked upon as one of the most important advances in California 
horticulture during the last decade. One of the most careful 
students of cover crops in all their bearings is Mr. L. L. Palmer, 
of North Pomona, who in a recent public address cited ten dififerent 
reasons for growing cover crops (legumes) in the orchard: 

1. They provide humus in the soil, by which the inert fertiliza- 
tion materials of the soil are made available. 

2. They make it possible to obtain results from the use of the 
cheaper forms of phosphate, such as Thomas Slag and other unacid- 
ulated phosphates. 

3. They store up nitrogen from the air, and therefore act as a 
direct nitrogenous fertilizer. 

4. They improve vastly the mechanical condition of the soil, 
making it easily possible to secure the best cultivation. 

5. They put the soil in a condition to retain moisture. 

6. They make the soil porous, so that proper aeration is secured. 

7. They are a means for overcoming irrigation Jiardpan and plow- 
sole. 

8. While growing they prevent the washing of the soil by the 
storm waters. 



170 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

9. While growing they probably assist in preventing the radia- 
tion of heat from the ground in time of a freeze. 

10. They do away with the cukivation of the ground during the 
winter months. 

Each of these reasons suggests a chapter of discussion and 
explanation which can not be indulged in. Every reader should 
keep himself up to date in this progressive subject by thoughtful 
reading of our horticultural journals and proceedings of our horti- 
cultural assemblies. 



CHAPTER XV 
IRRIGATION OF FRUIT TREES AND VINES 

Whether fruit shall be grown with irrig-ation or not is a local 
and specific question, and it must be answered with due regard for 
several conditions, among which are : First, the minimum local 
rainfall ; second, the depth and character of the soil and subsoil ; 
third, the situation and environment of the ground on which the 
fruit is to be grown; fourth, the kind of fruit which it is desired to 
produce. 

These conditions are all correlated, and a knowledge of them 
all is necessary to an intelligent decision as to correct practice in 
any given locality. For example, the amount of rainfall which is 
adequate in one locality, or in one situation, even, may be quite 
insufficient in another, because, first, one soil may be deep and 
fairly retentive, into which roots can penetrate and find abundant 
moisture ; second, another soil may have sufficient depth, but be so 
porous as to lose its moisture by evaporation, or so leachy as to 
lose it by drainage; third, still another may be shallow, and quickly 
dried out under a fervid sun, or quickly drained by reason of a 
sloping substratum of rock or hardpan, while another similar soil, 
differently situated, may receive abundant moisture from the drain- 
age of the slope above it ; fourth, possibly in all the soils cited there 
might be adequate moisture for deciduous fruits, but citrus fruits 
would require irrigation ; or enough for young, but not for bearing 
trees. 

Thus it appears that even to decide whether a location has suffi- 
cient rainfall for the growth of fruit without irrigation, one must 
pass judgment upon all the conditions first mentioned. It is hardly 
worth while, then, to discuss such a topic upon theoretical grounds, 
or to attempt to answer the general question, Shall irrigation be 
employed in the growth of fruit? The true guide is enlightened 
local experience, and the true test is the growth of the tree and the 
excellence of its fruit. So long as the grower is able to secure 
every year a generous amount of good-sized and excellent fruit by 
natural rainfall, he need concern himself very little about irrigation ; 
if his tree shows distress, and his fruit, even when properly thinned 
out, is not up to market standards every year, he may do well to 
provide himself with irrigation facilities, either for constant use or 
to supplement rainfall when it is occasionally deficient. 

Of course it is not commended as a rule to practice that the grower 

wait until the tree shows signs of distress before applying water. This 

is a very bad plan of proceeding, but the visible language of the tree is 

mentioned as indicating that the tree needs help, either at regular inter- 

171 



172 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

vals or occasionally, and after such a warning the grower should be 
able to tell by examination of the soil and by study of the local rainfall 
record when this need will occur, and apply his water in advance of the 
need. 

Recent experience has enabled fruit growers in all parts of Califor- 
nia to arrive at a truer conception of the relation of irrigation to the 
growth of fruits. Many who long scouted the suggestion that irriga- 
tion was necessary for deciduous fruit trees in their districts, have 
found that water, in addition to the rainfall, was very profitable, either 
to enable large, bearing trees to produce larger fruit, or to maintain in 
full vigor their later summer growth and to make strong fruit buds, 
which insure the following year's production. It has also been widely 
demonstrated that a tree which is adequately supplied with water, no 
matter whether it be directly from the clouds or through the irrigating 
stream, yields fruit of better size, aroma, flavor and carrying quality 
than a tree which, from any cause, falls even a little short of an ade- 
quate supply. It is clear then that neither irrigation nor non-irrigation 
are in themselves principles, but are merely methods to be employed 
when conditions demand the one or the other. 

Several claims against irrigated products may be stated and op- 
posed in this way : 

(1) The claim that nursery trees grown by irrigation are, from 
that mere fact, inferior is based upon experience in transplanting trees 
unduly forced by over-irrigation. Immense growth from the bud in a 
single season of an inch and a half in diameter and ten feet in height 
tempted buyers who wanted to get as much as possible for their money. 
The result of setting out such trees created a strong prejudice against 
irrigated nursery stock. It is now clearly seen that moderate, thrifty 
growth is the ideal in a young tree, and if the soil does not hold rain- 
fall enough to secure this, water enough to secure it must be applied. 

(2) The claim that irrigated fruit lacks aroma and flavor is based 
upon observation of monstrous, insipid fruit forced into such abnormal 
character by excessive irrigation. Growers who concluded therefrom 
that irrigated fruit was necessarily inferior, denied water to their trees 
and gathered small, tough, unmarketable fruit, because there was not 
enough rainfall to enable the trees to perform their proper function. As 
it is now conceded that the highest quality, including the delicate aromas 
and flavors, can be secured only by adequate moisture, it matters not 
how long since it fell from the clouds nor by what route it reaches the 
roots of the trees. 

(3) The claim that irrigated fruit could not endure shipment was 
leased upon the bruising and collapse of fruit which was unduly inflated 
by over-irrigation. The best fruit for shipping is the perfect fruit and 
that is secured as just stated. The fact that the greater part of the 
fresh fruit shipped across the continent from California has been more 
or less irrigated, according to the needs of different localities, has set- 
tled the point beyond further controversy. 



RESULTS OF OVER-IRRIGATION 173 

(4) The claim that canners objected to irrigated fruit was based 
upon the early experience with over-irrigated fruit, which lacked qual- 
ity and consistency. x\t present the canners encourage irrigation and 
all other arts of growing which bring the product up to the standards 
they insist upon. 

(5) The claim that irrigated fruit is inferior for drying has the 
same foundation as the preceding claims and is just as clearly based 
upon misapprehension. Watery fruit is obviously inferior for drying 
but such fruit is the fault of the irrigator, not of irrigation. One of 
the plainest deductions from experience is that small, tough fruit makes 
unprofitable dried fruit, and that the best development of the fruit is 
essential to the best results from drying. Many comparative weigh- 
ings have shown that the greatest yield in dried form has been secured 
from trees which have had water enough to produce good, large fruit. 
Even to bear fruit for drying, then, the tree must have moisture enough 
to develop size and quality. If lacking moisture, the tree serves its own 
purpose in developing pit and skin and reduces the pulp, in which lie 
the desirability and value of dried fruits. 

Of course the water should be applied at proper times, in proper 
amount, and in a proper way. 



HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD BE USED? 

This is by its very nature an elusive question and any attempt to 
answer it by a definite prescription is more apt to produce folly than 
wisdom. For as it appears that whether irrigation is at all needed or 
not depends upon several conditions which must be ascertained in 
each place, so the amount of water, which is really an expression of the 
degree of that need, depends also upon local conditions of rainfall, of 
soil depth and retentiveness, of rate of waste by evaporation, of the 
particular thirst of each irrigated crop, etc. The result secured by the 
use of water is really the ultimate measure of the duty of water in each 
instance. In the case of fruit trees and vines, then, whatever amount 
of water secures thrifty and adequate wood growth and strong, good- 
colored foliage, but not excessive or rank growth; and abundance of 
good-sized and rich, but not monstrous and watery fruit, is the proper 
amount for that place and that product, — and to the ascertainment of 
that amount by local experience of himself and others, the grower 
should^employ his most earnest thought and his keenest insight. 

During recent years the writer has continually renewed his data 
of the irrigation practice of California fruit growers by systematic 
inquiry and has prepared four bulletins* which have been published 

•Farmers' Bulletin No. 116, "Irrigation in Fruit Growing;" Farmers' Bulletin No. 138, 
"Irrigation in Garden and Field;" Bulletin of Experiment Stations No. 108, "Irrigation Prac- 
tice Among Fruit Growers of the Pacific Coast;" annual report of irrigation and drainage 
investigations, 1904. "Relation of Irrigation to Yield, Size, Quality, and Commercial Suitability 
of Fruits." 



174] CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

by the Irrig-ation Investigations of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture. 

A study of local practice shows that infinite variety exists and 
in the nature of the case must exist, and that any definite prescrip- 
tion of the duty of water under various conditions is impossible. 
In some cases the amount of water at each irrigation must be small, 
as, for instance, the frequent irrigation in Sacramento and Placer 
counties, where the soils are shallow, overlying bedrock, and a 
small amount saturates them. In other places an acre-foot of water 
is readily absorbed and retained in the deep soil. The annual rainfall 
also has little relation to the amount of irrigation, because neither 
fine shallow, nor deep coarse soils, can retain the volume of water 
which falls upon them during the rainy season. Then the varying 
rate of evaporation, the character of the tilth, etc., enter as factors 
and it becomes clear that he is fortunate who knows how much 
water to use on his own place. 

It is interesting to note that results of close inquiry by the 
Irrigation Investigations of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to 
ascertain the amounts of water used by measurement of water run- 
ning in main ditches and by estimate of the acreage to which the 
water is applied, do not agree closely with the growers' estimates 
of the amounts of water which they actually use. There are, of 
course, always issues between water-purveyors and water-buyers 
which can not be entered upon in this connection. A rough conclu- 
sion from data secured from the ditch flow, etc., is that from 12 to 
30 acre-inches of water are used annually in irrigated orchards and 
vineyards, according to local conditions involved. It is quite clear 
that the amounts chiefly used would not be the average but would 
tend toward the lower figure. The details of these inquiries are 
found in the publications on irrigation of the Office of Experiment 
Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture.* 



RELATION OF RAINEALL TO IRRIGATION 

The amount of rain and the time it falls are clearly the most 
important factors in determining the necessity for irrigation. 
Absence of rainfall makes a desert of the richest soils at all elevations 
and at all exposures. Its only remedy is irrigation. But there are de- 
grees of poverty in rainfall, and thorough tillage will often legsen the 
ill effects of a scanty supply, so that an oasis may be made to appear 
without water beyond that supplied from the clouds. This is the tri- 
umph of tillage in the arid region which is to be considered in another 
connection. 

The line between adequate and insufficient rainfall can not be 

* Definite citation is not made because these publications are continually appearing witli 
additional data on the effective use of water. The whole series should be examined. 




175 



176 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

closely drawn. In the growth of common orchard fruits, irrigation is 
not resorted to at a number of points where the local rainfall sometimes 
is as low as 15 or 16 inches, but with less than that amount, unless 
the soil receive additional moisture by underflow, it is essential. On 
the other hand, irrigation is regularly practised in some localities where 
the rainfall sometimes rises to 45 inches. Under average conditions 
of soil depth and retentiveness, the amount of rainfall which may be 
considered adequate for deciduous orchard trees under good cultiva- 
tion is about 20 inches. So definitely is this amount fixed in the minds 
of some California growers as meeting the needs of the tree for satis- 
factory growth and fruitage that, when rainfall for a season is less than 
that amount, irrigation is at once resorted to to supply the shortage. 

But owing to local conditions of soil and climate, the rainfall, 
no matter how large, may not be relied upon to carry the trees 
through the dry season. The fact is that the soil is not capable 
either of receiving the heavy rainfall or of long retaining such por- 
tions as actually enter it. There is, then, a considerable part of the 
rainfall which is worse than worthless, because it does injury by soil 
washing and soil leaching, and places where extremely heavy rain- 
fall occurs may be actually worse off than other places with less 
rainfall. Some localities of large rainfall lead in amounts of water 
supplied by irrigation. The converse is also true, for some localities 
of light rainfall report success with deciduous fruit trees with a 
minimum amount of irrigation water. 

Deciduous Fruits. — Without making too much of individual 
reports there appear instances enough to warrant the conclusion 
that the deciduous fruit tree can winter successfully with a small 
moisture supply and is, in fact, in less danger from lack of moisture 
than from over-supply at this time of the year. If there be enough 
moisture to prevent injury from evaporation, the tree will start good 
growth as the season advances and continue it if irrigation is given 
promptly and in sufficient quantity. There must always be a deter- 
mination of what is an adequate supply by reference to local condi- 
tions, but as an estimate of necessary rainfall has been made at 20 
inches, it is evident that adequate irrigation may be very much less 
than that. The rainfall of 20 inches is distributed through six or 
seven months. Some of it consists of light rains, with long, dry in- 
tervals, where there is slight penetration and quick evaporation. 
Some of it is lost by run off and by drainage. It is not surprising, 
then, that some growers having deep valley loams to render their ir- 
rigation effective, report success with deciduous trees with 8 or 10 
inches of water applied just at the time of the tree's greatest needs, 
and used, no doubt, with maximum efficiency. It seems to be a war- 
ranted deduction, from all data known to the writer, that 10 inches 
of water, applied at the right time to soils of good depth and fair 
retentiveness, and accompanied by good tillage for conservation, is 



IRRIGATION OF CITRUS FRUITS 177 

an adequate supply for five months of growth and fruiting even 
when the rainfall is only about enough to prevent drying out during 
the winter season. Some growers report use of less than this. Cer- 
tainly less will do for young trees under favorable conditions, and 
some of the least amounts are reported from the newly planted re- 
gions. As the trees advance in age and bearing, larger amounts will 
be required. Instances of greatest frequency of application may be 
taken as indicating soils lacking retentiveness, either through shallow- 
ness or coarseness, or either of these accompanied by extreme summer 
heat and aridity. 

Citrus Fruits. — As these trees are evergreens, and as their habit 
is to make their chief fruit growth in the autumn after the work of 
the deciduous tree has been finished for the season, the irrigation 
season for them is much longer. As they are, in fact, almost always 
active and sustaining uninterrupted evaporation from their leaf sur- 
faces, they must always be provided with moisture or ill will result 
to tree or fruit. They thus require more water than do deciduous 
trees. There is the same relation between irrigation and rainfall 
with citrus as with deciduous fruit trees, but the degree of relation 
is different. Many trials have shown that it is practically impossible 
to grow satisfactory citrus fruits without irrigation, unless there be 
underflow, and this is attended by the usual difficulties of high 
ground water and undesirable. There is no combination of heavy 
rainfall, or winter irrigation, and soil retentiveness which will sup- 
ply the summer and autumn thirst of the orange or lemon in Cali- 
fornia, Irrigation, too, must be maintained both summer and winter 
wherever the rainfall is not well distributed and adequate. In the 
chief citrus regions of the State rainfall is seldom adequate except 
during January and February, and not always then. Under such con- 
ditions an estimate of the average requirements of citrus fruit trees 
in bearing would be about 20 inches of irrigation, irrespective of 
rainfall, although there are localities of larger rainfall and more re- 
tentive soils where crops of these fruits can be made with 10 inches 
used at just the right time. 

RELATION OF SOIL TO IRRIGATION 

As already stated, the desirability of irrigation is unquestion- 
ably, in many cases, conditioned upon soil depth and character. 
This relation has received careful attention from soil physicists, 
and an understanding of it involves problems of plant growth and 
the movement of water in soils, the leading facts of which are avail- 
able in popular form.* 

*Relation9of soils to climate, U. S. Dept. Agr., Weather Bureau Bui. 3. Water as a 
factor in the growth of plants, Yearbook U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1894, p. 165. Some interesting 
soil problems. Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agr., 1897, p. 429. The movement and retention of water 
in soils. Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agr., 1898, p. 399. The mechanics of soil moisture, U. S. Dept. 
Agr., Division of Soils Bui. 10. 



178 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Analysis of such phenomena can not he undertaken in this con- 
nection but a few striking contrasts in existing- practice are very sug- 
gestive. 

On the famous river-bank fruit land of the Sacramento Valley, 
with loams of great depth and good retentiveness, and with an aver- 
age rainfall of approximately 20 inches, irrigation is resorted to only 
in years of minimum rainfall, when the precipitation is perhaps only 
about half the average. At nearly the same level, as already cited, 
where the soil is shallow and overlies hardpan, irregular irrigation is 
required. But still more marked contrast is found in the foothills 
within sight of these valley fruit lands, where with twice the average 
rainfall irrigation must begin early in the summer and continue until 
autumn is well advanced, because, first, the slope is so rapid that 
much rainfall is lost by run off ; second, the soil is too shallow above 
bed rock to hold much water. Even here, however, there comes in 
a local variation of measurable effect. When the soil lies upon ver- 
tical plates of bed rock much water is retained between them, and 
is capable of being reached by tree roots, while soil lying upon flat 
plates of rock has no such subterranean reservoir. In the foothill 
region there also occurs exceptional exposure from slopes facing 
the midsummer sun in an atmosphere whose dryness is but slightly 
ameliorated by the influence of air currents from the coast. 

In the valley and foothill contrast, just cited, the unirrigated 
valley looks up to the irrigated foothills. There are also places 
where unirrigated hillslopes look down upon irrigated valleys. The 
uplands of San Diego County are nearer the coast than those above 
the Sacramento Valley. They, too, have a rainfall usually ample 
for deciduous fruits suited to their elevation. Their rolling plateaus 
of deep soil, free from excessive heat and evaporation which occur 
on the highlands farther inland and 500 miles farther north, produce 
very successfully without irrigation. In this region, however, the 
rainfall in the valleys below is often less than the needs of even the 
deciduous fruit trees, and waters flowing from mountain snows 
through a region of unirrigated uplands must be used to irrigate 
them. 

Still another striking contrast, and one involving another and 
wholly different factor, is found in the San Joaquin Valley. Near 
Visalia 2 feet above river bottom and 4 feet above the surrounding- 
plains, there is a large area of deep alluvial soil with much decayed 
vegetable matter. The land is moistened by underflow from the 
river, and, though the rainfall is but 7}^> inches, deciduous fruits are 
grown without irrigation. In the same county, and only 18 miles 
distant, there are areas of rich loam mixed with granitic sand 16 to 
18 feet deep. In this locality, though the rainfall is 11^4 inches, irri- 
gation is practised freely, as the loss of moisture in summer is very 
great. 



IRRIGATION AND SOILS 179 

RELATION OF TILLAGE TO IRRIGATION 

Tillage, particularly during the dry se'ason of the year, under 
some conditions, directly determines the need of irrigation, and 
is to a certain extent, as the popular phrase goes, a substitute for 
irrigation. Under all conditions surface tillage by promoting con- 
servation of soil moisture, is determinative of the actual duty of 
water, whether it be from rainfall or irrigation. The effect of fre- 
quent surface tillage has been accurately determined by investiga- 
tion and experiment, both in humid and arid regions. These experi- 
ments fully support the view taught by the experience of about half 
a century in California, in accordance with which thorough tillage 
has been so widely practised in the arid sections as an essential to 
successful fruit growing. 

As already maintained in Chapter XIII, the relations of tillage to 
soil moisture include both reception and conservation. For the 
reception of moisture, deep work with the plow, and sometimes with 
the subsoiler also, is almost indispensable. To retain this moisture 
and to prevent, as far as possible, its escape into the thirsty air of 
the arid region by surface evaporation, less depth and more 
thorough surface pulverization are required. Recent practice has 
been tending toward deeper summer cultivation, so that, as pre- 
viously claimed, 5 or 6 inches of loose, finely divided soil is now ob- 
tained where formerly half that depth was considered adequate. It 
has also been shown that frequent stirring of this fine surface layer 
checks evaporation, even when no water is applied to compact the 
surface or where no weeds grow to draw upon the soil moisture. In 
a word, the aim of tillage in the arid region, so far as it relates to 
moisture supply in the soil consists in opening the soil to rain, or to 
irrigation, and in subsequently closing it to evaporation. These are 
the principles which were recognized and applied in California half a 
century ago and are now enjoying somewhat sensational renais- 
sance in the "dry farming" agitation in the interior of the United 
States. 

A Negative Declaration. — It is interesting that current practice 
affords full demonstration of the foregoing claims both positively and 
negatively. The negative argument in favor of moisture conservation 
by clean summer cultivation is found in the fact that growers in regions 
of heaviest rainfall approve the growth of cover crops, like clover, 
after the trees reach bearing age, and also that others employ scant 
summer cultivation, or cultivation for a short period only. The idea 
of these growers is that such practices relieve the soil of excessive 
moisture, either by the growth of the cover crop or by facilitating 
surface evaporation, and so prevent the tree from being stimulated to 
too large wood growth, or maintaining ■:^r(n\th so late in the season 
as to enter the frost period in too active a condition and with new 



180 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

wood not properly matured. Quite in contrast with this is the practice, 
which is gaining ground in the hottest parts of the irrigated region, of 
growing alfalfa as a cover crop for the purpose of shading the soil 
and thus reducing soil temperature and, perhaps, of avoiding the ill 
effects of the reflection of burning sun heat from a smooth surface of 
light-colored soil, or the ill effect of "burning out of humus" by clean 
summer, culture. In such cases more irrigation is needed to supply 
enough water for the growth of both trees and cover crop. But at 
present these exceptions are of rare occurrence. 

Cultivation Not Determined by Irrigation. — The adoption of a 
policy of clean cultivation in the dry season is not conditioned upon 
the amount of moisture available either by rainfall or irrigation. It 
is pursued both where irrigation is practiced and where it is not, and 
also where the rainfall is greatest and where it is least. It prevails in 
the humid region where rainfall may rise to 60 inches or more, and in 
the arid region where it may not exceed one-tenth as much. As a 
matter of fact, there does not appear to be a good fruit soil so deep 
and retentive that it can retain enough even of a very heavy rainfall to 
effect good tree growth and fruit bearing if it is forced to sustain the 
loss by evaporation from a compact surface during the long dry season 
following. There may be, it is true, soils weak in capillary, in which 
water can not rise from a great depth and in which deep-rooting plants 
may find ample water in the subsoil, providing it is held there by 
impervious underlying strata. There are many more instances where 
loss by natural drainage is added to loss by evaporation. But, disre- 
garding exceptions, the loss of moisture by both drainage and evap- 
oiation during the dry season is so great that the soil to a depth of 
several feet loses practically all the water which is available for plant 
growth, and the trees fail or become unprofitable. Loss by drainage 
can not, practically, be prevented, but loss by evaporation can be so 
reduced that trees and vines will be adequately supplied in spite of the 
loss by drainage. Because, therefore, the soil can not retain enough 
water in its natural state, no matter how much it may receive, clean 
summer cultivation, involving quite complete and more or less frequent 
stirring to the surface to the depth of 5 or 6 inches, as discussed in 
Chapter XIII, is the almost universal practice, irrespective of local 
rainfall or of irrigation. 

Cultivation, However, Determines Success of Irrigation. — The 
prevailing motive for cultivation in the dry-summer region is moisture 
retention. In this respect good surface tilth is so effective that, though 
enough moisture can not be retained without it, so much can be 
retained with it that, even where irrigation or rainfall is moderate in 
amount, it may serve all purposes of the tree or vine. Thus cultivation 
enters into the fruit-growers' practice in the region under considera- 
tion, not to make large rainfall effective as it does in some parts of the 
region, but to make moderate rainfall effective, or to mnke mnall irriyp- 



WHEN TO IRRIGATE 181 

tion effective, by increasing the duty of water which is applied. It 
becomes not only a ruling consideration in the effectiveness of a certain 
amount of rainfall, as has already been suggested in another connec- 
tion, but it also determines the success of irrigation and the amount 
of water required ; for, although it was an early and crude practice 
to rely upon irrigation to support uncultivated fruit trees and to 
irrigate more and more frequently as the ground became harder from 
its use, this policy has now no standing in commercial fruit growing. 
Not only was it wasteful of water, but it was otherwise detrimental 
to the thrift of trees. 

Cultivation and Irrigation Work for Soil Improvement. — Thor- 
ough cultivation, both in winter and summer, has other very important 
ends in view. It opens the soil and promotes aeration ; it encourages 
deeper rooting and thus encourages the tree to take possession of a 
greater soil mass both for moisture and other plant food. It is part 
of the very valuable policy of increasing humus by plowing under the 
natural growth of weeds or specially sown legumes, which is discussed 
in Chapter XIV. This affords opportunity to use water, beyond the 
amount the trees require, for soil improvement. 



WHEN TO IRRIGATE 

When to irrigate is governed by local conditions and the needs of 
different fruits, and can not be stated in general rules. There are, 
however, some principles involved which may be hinted at. 

Winter Irrigation. — On lands with sufficient depth of fairly re- 
tentive soil, the grower may artificially supplement a scanty rainfall 
by thoroughly soaking the land by winter irrigation and then by careful 
summer cultivation he will be able to conserve enough water in the 
soil to carry deciduous fruit trees or vines through bearing and 
autumn bud formation without further water supply. But there are 
other situations in which no amount of winter irrigation nor rainfall 
will suffice for these ends. There are foothill orchard areas in which 
the winter rainfall is two or three times as great as in the valley situa- 
tions where fruit is successfully grown without irrigation, and yet 
water must be applied in summer on those foothills or the fruit would 
be unmarketable and the trees in distress. The forty or more inches 
of rainfall falling on a shallow soil underlaid by a sloping bedrock in 
some cases nearly sluices the cultivated soil from its foothold, and 
yet the over-saturation in winter avails nothing for summer growth, 
because most diligent cultivation can not retain moisture enough in 
shallow soil thus situated to sustain bearing trees in good crops of full- 
sized fruit. The same is true of valley soils underlaid by hardpan. In 
such cases winter irrigation could add nothing but distress to the soil 
over-soaked by rainfall, and summer irrigation, well-timed and ade- 



182 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

quale, is the secret of success in the orchard. The same conclusion, 
although for very different reasons, must hold for soils underlaid by 
g-ravel or sand, and thus too rapidly dried by leaching. 

But even this generalization must be accepted only for situations 
endowed with conditions which justify it. There may be sloping hills 
with shallow soil where winter rainfall does not amount to saturation. 
Then winter irrigation to supply such irrigation is desirable, and then, 
too, summer irrigation in proper amount and at proper intervals, will 
also be demanded. Among the foothills, also, there may be localities 
with depth of retentive soil in which water enough can be applied in 
winter to carry trees through the year. Thus we come again to the 
only safe generalization which can be made, and that is, that every- 
where water must be adequate to the demands of the tree at the time 
it is needed, and whether it can best be applied in summer or winter, 
or both, or whether it is not necessary to make any artificial application 
at all, depends upon existing conditions which the grower must ascer- 
tain, and to which his policy -and practice must conform. It is a fact, 
however, that all soils, which under good cultivation are fairly reten- 
tive, winter irrigation, when water is most abundant, and usually car- 
ries most sediment, can be made to go far toward making summer 
irrigation unnecessary for all deciduous fruits. 

As to winter irrigation, practice varies, some relying upon a single 
heavy flooding by using checks on contour lines, by which, perhaps, 
a foot in depth or more of water is allowed to soak into the soil; others 
use the same method of application in winter as in summer, and, there- 
fore, give a number of irrigations in winter. There is, of course, much 
less danger of injury by water to deciduous growths in winter, because 
they are dormant, though an eye should be kept on drainage for exces- 
sive irrigation as for excessive rainfall. The grape and the pear are 
known to endure long submergence, but some other fruits are sensitive 
about it. 

Summer Irrigation. — When this shall begin and when end are 
to be locally determined. In some places even the earliest fruits can 
not reach satisfactory size and quality without irrigation. In others 
rainfall with winter irrigation will suffice for proper development of 
early fruits, but not for late. In both cases the fruit may be satis- 
factory, but the tree unable to hold its leaf vigor until the work of the 
growing season is properly completed. It is then apparent that local 
practice must vary in order to reach the universal fact, and that is that 
all through the active season the tree must have constant and adequate 
tjioisture supply. INIany evils in lack of bearing, in dying back, in 
unseasonable activity and the like are due to inadequate, intermittent 
and, in some cases, to excessive moisture in the soil. 

Cultivation and Irrigation. — Although the relations of irrigation 
and cultivation have l)een freely discussed, it must b<c remarked in this 
connection that with such an extension of irrigation practice as is now 




183 



184 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

realized, there is danger that those who have previously trusted so 
fully upon good cultivation may swing to the other extreme and trust 
too much to the stream of water and too little to the plow and culti- 
vator. There is a temptation this way when one finds that he can 
run water in large amounts very cheaply. Not only is there danger 
of over-irrigation in the growth of tree and fruit, but the ill effects of 
water upon the soil, when unattended by good cultivation, are con- 
stantly threatened. The tree needs air as well as water; it needs a 
certain free condition of the soil for its best root action. These needs 
can be amply secured when adequate application of water is quickly 
followed by soil-stirring. Irrigated soil rightly treated is delightfully 
mellow and free and of condition to invite the fullest activity on the 
part of the tree. Irrigated ground not properly treated becomes com- 
pacted, fissured, cloddy and generally hateful, losing moisture rapidly, 
setting around the roots like cement and tearing them by its subse- 
quent shrinkage. These conditions do not occur on the lighter soils, 
and yet even these are best when cultivated in a rational manner. 



METHODS OF IRRIGATION 

There are various methods employed in California for the convey- 
ance and application of water to trees and vines. Some of the principal 
ones will be described. 

As this writing does not pretend to be a treatise on irrigation engi- 
neering, no attempt will be made to describe the more ambitious under- 
takings, which should never be entered upon without the engagement 
of a qualified engineer. Nor is it possible to discuss the numerous 
devices which are covered by patents. Investment should always be 
preceded by visits to irrigation works now in operation, and procedure 
should be guided by observation. The hints presented herewith relate 
chiefly to things the irrigator can do for himself. 

Free Flooding. — Flooding — that is, the free flow of water over 
the whole surface, or the flow between rows with furrows near the 
trees to retain the water in the interspaces — is only employed on some 
flat lands where winter irrigation is used to supplement rainfall when 
the latter is occasionally below normal. In such cases water is available 
in large quantities, and the lay of the land favors quite even distribu- 
tion. Even under these conditions the experience of growers soon 
leads to the adoption of deep furrows or lateral ditches, or some simple 
check system, as superior to flooding. Summer flooding is done only 
by those who are unacquainted with better methods or who count their 
trees of too little account to warrant extra effort. It seems, therefore, 
a fair conclusion tliat flooding is only resorted to as a temporary expe- 
dient, and has little standing. 



THE WAY TO MAKE CHECKS 185 

The Check System. — With soils of such character that vertical 
percolation is very rapid, flooding in checks, hy which water is held 
upon a particular area until it sinks below the surface, is considered 
necessary. There is a tendency to change from this method to a furrow 
system wherever practicable, because the former requires more soil 
shifting, a larger head of water for economical operation, more labor 
to handle it, more working in water and mud, and more difficult culti- 
vation to relevel the land and to reduce a puddled surface to satisfactory 
tilth. For these and other reasons, perhaps, on loams of medium 
fineness one may find two adjacent growers pursuing different methods, 
while on coarse porous loams the check system prevails, and on fine, 
retentive loams the furrow system is without rival. 

The check system can be seen on the most extensive scale in the 
upper part of the San Joaquin Valley, where the land is so level and 
water so abundant that the checks can be measured by acres or frac- 
tions of acres. In its most perfect form it is found in Orange County 
and some parts of Los Angeles County, where the checks are measured 
by feet, rarely by rods. Very large checks are chiefly used for field 
crops, although also employed for winter irrigation of vineyards and 
orchards of deciduous fruits. With fruits, however, even in the same 
district, the tendency is toward using smaller checks carefully leveled 
before planting. With the large-check system permanent levees, either 
in rectangular form or on the contour plan, are generally used. The 
small-check system is chiefly laid off with temporary levees, quickly 
made with special appliances and as quickly worked back to a level as 
soon as the ground dries sufficiently after irrigation, and the whole 
surface kept well cultivated until the time arrives for a restoration of 
the levees for the next irrigation. The latter is the leading horticul- 
tural mode. It is carefully described by Mr. Sydmer Ross, of Fuller- 
ton, Orange County, California, as follows : 

The check system, as carried out in the best-handled orchards, entails 
much hard work, but after you are through with an irrigation you know that 
each and every tree has had its full supply of water or you know the reason 
why. The ground must be cultivated, say, about 5 inches deep, so as to have 
plentv of loose soil with which to throw up a high ridge. Then a four or 
six horse "ridger" should be run once each way through the rows, if it is a 
citrus or deciduous orchard, or twice should the trees be walnuts, because 
these trees are grown about 40 feet apart. After this is done the ridger 
should be run entirely around the outside of the piece to be irrigated, so as 
to have as perfect a ridpe as possible on the outside. One man will ridge 
about 15 acres in a day. The ridger should be built with a steel plate extend- 
ing along the bottom on both sides, bolted to the inside and projecting 
about 2 inches, so as to take good hold of the ground. Then with one horse 
attached to what is locally known as a "jump scraper." one side of the checks 
should be closed up, for the ridger in making the cross ridges breaks down 
the first ridge at its intersection. These repairs were at first made with a 
shovel, but the jump scraper, also called locally the "horse shovel," closes 
up the gaps very quickly. The practice generally followed is to close up the 
high side of the cliecks if the land does not cut by running water, but if it 
cuts, close up the lower side. 



186 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

After closing up the checks the ditches arc plowed out and then the V- 
shaped "crowder" is run twice through them. On lands inclined to cut it is 
advisable that the length of the rows to be irrigated should not be over 250 
feet, but in heavy land this distance can be considerably increased, if neces- 
sary, without danger of cutting the ridges by too long a run of water. 

If the checks have been closed up on the low side of the ridge, it is 
better to run the water to the ends of the ditch and water the last row first; 
but if the high side has been closed up, it is best to water first the row 
nearest the gate or the main ditch, as the case may be, as in each instance 
dry earth will thus be available, if necessarv. to close up the checks. The 
water is run down the row to the end tree, and as soon as the last check is 
filled it is closed up, and so on till all are filled and closed, when the water 
is turned down the next row. 

To do good work it is usual to allow three men for every 50 inches of 
water, but in our own practice we have had much better results by dividing 
up our water and running from 35 to 40 inches to a ditch and allowing two 
men for such streams. In doing this we get better work and find it much 
easier for the men. If everything is well in hand, each man will irrigate 
about 30 acres in a day. 

For turning the water from the ditches into the checks metal dams or 
tappoons are used. Some of these have a gate for the division of the water 
when the stream is too large and is divided, and two rows are watered at the 
same time. The gate is not a great success, as the water is apt soon to 
cut its way under the tappoon, but it may be much improved by having a 
shelf for the water to drop on after it passes through the opening. The com- 
mon practice for dividing water is to throw a tappoon partly across the 
ditch, putting a gunny sack on the opposite side to prevent cutting by the 
water. This is, on the whole, fully as satifactory as using the tappoon with 
a gate. 

All who follow this system should get ready for the water before it 
comes. A great many seem to think that if they ridge up their land, close 
up the checks, and plow out their ditches, everything necessary has been 
done. Such is not the case, as ditches that are liable to cut should be fixed 
in the weak places with brush or burlaps. Old gunny sacks cut open and 
spread out are excellent for this purpose. Occasionally there are places 
where it is impossible to get a perfect ridge. These should be looked up and 
fixed with a shovel. The jump scraper will not entirely close up a check; 
it generally requires a shovelful or two to complete it. It is usual after the 
water is turned down one row to fix up the next one, but it is an excellent 
plan to have a few rows fixed up ahead, for there come times when breaks 
occur and there is not time to make the necessary repairs, and when water 
once gets the start there is apt to be much trouble and hard work before' it 
can be put under control, besides doing poor work. 

After the ground is dry enough to work, the ridges are split with a list- 
ing plow or furrower attached to a cultivator. Then the ground should be 
run over with a harrow, setting the teeth to go well in, so as to pulverize 
the surface thoroughly. By using the harrow the ground can be worked 
about one day earlier than with the cultivator, and it also prevents the 
ground from baking till such time as it can be worked with the latter im- 
plement, besides doing far better work than with the cultivator alone, especi- 
ally when there is much land to go over, as_ some of it is certain to get too 
dry before it can be reached, and then it will not pulverize well. All trees 
should be worked around by hand with either a fork or hoe, as soon after 
irrigation as the ground becomes dry enough and before it becomes hard. 

Specifications for Homemade Implements for the Check System. 

— The following implements, used in preparing the ground for irriga- 
tion by the check system, were made on the fruit ranch of J. B. Neff, 
Anaheim, California, with the tools ordinarily found on a -ranch, and 
with but little help from the blacksmith : 



roOr.S I'OK RTDfllNG 



is; 



The Ividger. — This has sides of 2 hy l()-inch pine 7 feet long, stand- 
ing 18 inches apart at the rear and 5 feet apart at the front end. The 
sides may be made of two 2 by 8-inch pieces with 2 by 3-inch battens 
bolted on securely. The front crossbar is of 2 by 4-inch pine 6 feet 2 
inches long, and is set 20 inches from the end. The rear crossbar is 
of 2 by 4-inch pine 4 feet 4 inches long. It is set 7 inches from the end 
of the sides. The diagonal braces are 1 by 3-inch pine 6 feet 10 inches 
long. The short side braces are 2 by 3-inch pine 15 inches long. The 




The "Ridger." 

For levee making in the check system of irrigating trees and vines. 

lower inside edge should be protected by a strip of steel or iron y^ by 
2 inches extending to and around the front ends, which should be 
beveled to a sharp edge. The inside should also be lined with sheet 
iron 6 or 8 inches above the ^ by 2-inch piece, and should have sheet 
iron pieces extending 16 inches beyond the rear end of the sides, 
tapered and braced in the manner shown in the cut, for the purpose of 
making the ridger firmer at the top. Every part of the ridger should 
be firmly bolted with ^-inch bolts, except the ^ by 2-inch iron, which 
should have 3-16-inch bolts, and the sheet-iron, which may be put on 
with nails. The hooks on sides for hitching draft chain are ^ by 1^ 
inches, and the draft chain is ^-inch cable chain. 

The V-shaped Crowder or Ditcher. — This has sides of 2 by 12-inch 
pine and cross-brace of 2 by 9-inch pine. The long side is 7 feet 8 
inches long and short side 3 feet 6 inches long. This is also protected 
by a piece of steel or iron extending entirely around the ditcher and 
bolted with 3-16-inch bolts. The sides come together in a point and 
stand at an angle of 45 degrees. The brace is placed 2 feet 10 inches 
from the point on short side and 3 feet 10 inches from the point on 
long side. It also has two handles, as shown in cut, 3 feet long. These 
are made of 2 by 3-inch pine reduced so as to hold conveniently. The 
sloping handle is bolted to the short side. When in use this implement 
stands with the short side elevated at an angle of about 35 degrees, 
and a floor is placed in tlie triangular space so that it will be level when 



i; 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



in use. An ordinary wide clevis is used for the draft and is placed as 
shown in the cut. A vertical hole may be made in front of the clevis 
pin and a small rod driven in to strengthen the hold of the clevis. 

The Jump Scraper or Horse Shovel. — This is used for filling gaps 
in the ridges, and is the work of the blacksmith. The beams are ^ by 
1^ inches and 30 inches long from the draft ring to the bend down- 
ward. The shovel is of No. 16 sheet-iron, 24 inches long by 18 inches 
deep. The handles are those used on any cultivator. The beams are 




Use of homemade ridger, orange orchard of A. D. Bishop, 
Orange County, Cal. 



bent to stand 6 inches forward of a square placed on top of the beams. 
The braces are of ^-inch round iron. The shovel is slightly cupped to 
make it hold more earth. 

The Portable Gate or Tappoon. — These are for shutting ditches, 
and are made of No. 16 sheet-iron 2 feet wide and of any desired 
length, but usually 3 feet, 4 feet or 5 feet long-. The corners are 
cut off to a circle, starting about 1 foot back of the corner. The 
handles are made of two pieces of 1 by 3 inch pine, 12 inches longer 
than the gate, and are placed one on each side of the sheet iron 
and secured by 34"irich bolts. 



TOOLS FOR RIDGING 



189 



The Combined Check and Furrow Method. — An effort to escape 
in some measure the puddling- of the surface which results from 
allowing water to sink away upon finely pulverized soil, lies in 
the direction of breaking up the soil roughly in the bottoms of the 
checks, which facilitates the quick passage of the water into the 
subsoil. This is done by running a small plow or three large culti- 
vator teeth attached to a single frame before the ridger is used to 
form the levees. Mr. A. D. Bishop of Orange County, California, 




The "Crowder." 

Used in the preparation for distribution of .water in the check system. 

uses a combined furrow and check system, as shown in the accom- 
panying diagram. He furrows the land first with a three-tooth 
furrower at right angles to the direction in which the water is to 
flow, and then uses the ridger to make levees in line with the water, 
laying out the work so as to get the closest approximation to a 
level. When the levees are made, the jump scraper is used and 
the end of each third or fourth furrow bank is connected with the 
levees at alternating sides of the check made by the levees. This 




The "Jumper." 

Used to complete levees by the "ridger" for the check system. 




190 



HILLSIDE IRRIGATION 



191 



causes the water to flow through the furrows from side to side and 
distribute itself evenly over the whole ground. The number of 
furrows which can be passed before connecting with the bank 
depends upon the slope of the land — the nearer level the land the 
greater the distance that can be left between the connections, and 
vice versa. In this way the water is taken slowly down a grade 
where it would flow too rapidly were it admitted to furrows in the 
direction of its flow. 



r^ 



u.?.X-'3SC 



;.^ FURRCVWS f:) 






li 






sax*aW**it««vA'*»l**£« 











)l — 



;4.^t-%<t*>6^i ; - 







Combined check and furrow irrigation. 



Another combination of the check and furrow system is found 
where the lowest spaces of a slope irrigated by furrows are laid oft' 
in checks to catch the overflow from the furrows and compel its 
percolation at a point which would otherwise receive too little water. 
The parts of a furrow system which lie farthest from the source of 
supply are obviously least supplied, because long flow can not be 
maintained there without much loss from overflow. Holding the 
water in checks at the lower end — usually for two rows of trees — 
is quite a help toward even distribution. 

The Basin System. — The term basin should be restricted to 
inclosurcs which do not aim at coverng the whole surface, but 
only a small area immediately surrounding the tree. The check 
system is clearly a more rational and perfect method of flooding. 
When basins were used on ground capable of irrigation by the check 
nr furrow systems, it was probably due to a misconception which 
has prevailed also in the practice of fertilization, that the tree de- 



192 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

rived its chief benefit from the soil immediately surrounding and 
beneath its bole, and that distant applications were likely to be 
wasted. Years ago it was held that the lateral root extension of a 
tree was equal to the spread of its branches, but recent investiga- 
tions have shown that under favorable soil conditions the root ex^ 
tension is vastly greater. It is not reasonable then to restrict water 
or other plant food to the region chiefly occupied with the stay roots 
and not the feeding roots of the tree, and it is a frequent observation 
that basined trees do not do so well and that they show distress 
sooner than those under systems which secure more complete water 
distribution. 

To the basin system may, however, be conceded these possi- 
bilities: (1) Trees may be grown on hillsides too steep for other 
means of irrigation unless the hillside be previously terraced; (2) 
the basins afford an opportunity to use a very small stream of water 
by allowing it to run for a long time in each basin, thus making 
a miniature reservoir at the base of each tree; (3) for young trees 
a small amount of water may sustain growth, while with other 
methods the same amount of water would be almost wholly lost by 
evaporation or percolation, or both ; (4) the expense of wider appli- 
cation of water and the necessary after-cultivation is obviated. 

In planting on hillsides, terracing is the foundation of the basin 
system. Terraces are plowed and scraped out until they have 
width enough to accommodate a line of basins and a ditch at the 
foot of each bank to supply them. The terraces are given a little 
fall, alternating in direction so that the water, starting from the 
ridge above, is dropped through a box, or otherwise let down, from 
the low end of one terrace to the high end of the next, and so on 
until the stream reaches the bottom of the slope. As a basin is 
reached it is filled and closed and the water sent along to the next 
and so on. As these basins are usually small and shallow they are 
filled two or three times in succession at each irrigation. 

Wherever water can be handled in contour ditches or furrows, 
terracing should seldom be undertaken for commercial purposes. 
With slopes which do require terracing, basins on the steeper parts 
are largely made by hand labor, after plowing to loosen the whole 
surface, and the operation consists in moving the earth from the 
upper side of the tree, so as to form a circular levee on the lower 
side, until the tree stands in a level, roundish pan as large as can be 
be made without too much excavation and filling. As the slope 
becomes less the basins enlarge and reach a diameter, finally, where 
the sides can be made by turning a small horse or mule around the 
tree with a plow, the rim being further raised and shaped by hand 
so as to hold 3 inches or more of water without danger of l)reaking 
away. 

The basins are filled with a small stream bv ditch or liose or 



r.AKCE FURROW SYSTEM 



193 



pipe line, aecorcling to the ground and notion of the irrigator. They 
are filled at such intervals as the water supply admits or the growth 
seems to need. The basin bottom is rarely disturbed. The crack- 
ing soil is finally given another dose of water to close up its wounds ; 
meantime the frequent surface soaking puddles the soil and the con- 
ditions unfavorable to growth arrive sooner or later, according to 
the disposition of the soil to run together by water settling. Drying 
and cracking is lessened by filling the basin with manure or rotten 
straw or other light rubbish, or by a layer of coarse sand on the 
bottom. As the tree grows the foliage shades the basin and thus 
reduces evaporation. 

The Furrow System. — 'Hie furrow system is the prevailing- 
method of irrigating fruit lands except with some soils which can 
be better handled with less water by the check system. The fur- 
rov/ system has, however, a very marked theoretical advantage 













Large furrow. 

Large furrow irrigation of orange trees at Palermo, Butte County, Cal. 



in the escape from saturating the surface soil, which has to dry 
out again before it can be cultivated, and it is only with difficulty 
reduced to fine tilth after such puddling. Another advantage is in 
saving the water used in moistening soil which has to be dried 
by evaporation. Other theoretical advantages lie in the even dis- 
tribution of the water with the least displacement of the soil and 
the introduction of the water to the subsoil, where deep-rooting 



194 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

]>lants should derive their chief sustenance. It is becoming quite 
clear that all these theoretical advantages have not been realized 
by the furrow system as generally practiced, and a number of modi- 
fications are now being introduced which promise their fuller realiza- 
tion. The changes now taking place tend toward reducing the dif- 
ference between what are known as the "large-furrow" and the 
"small-furrow" methods, because the improvement lies chiefly in 
introducing the water more deeply in the soil, as will be shown later, 
and this is done by using fewer and deeper furrows. 

Irrigating by Large Furrows. — Where one to four furrows are 
used, these are large furrows, while the small-furrow system uses from 
five to eight or more between two rows of trees. Large furrows are 
made with the double-moldboard plow, or with a single plow followed 
by the "crowder," or by plowing out dead furrows between the rows, 
etc. Their number depends upon the size of the trees and the fitness 
of the soil for lateral seepage. They are wide enough and deep enough 
to carry or hold a large stream of water. This method is used chiefly 
for winter irrigation on land which is so nearly level that the water 
will flow slowly into the furrows and stand there until it disappears by 
percolation. It is also used where one of two summer irrigations is all 
that is required to carry the trees through. It is obviously adapted 
only to land of slight and uniform grade. Irrigation by a single furrow 
cut near to the row of trees is a widely prevalent method with young 
trees. When the trees are larger, or when inter-cultures are undertaken, 
the large furrows are multiplied. In this case the water is admitted to 
the furrows from a board flume. Large furrows are often used in a 
bearing orchard, the furrows being filled from a lateral ditch, this 
lateral being parallel to the main ditch. In this case the board dam is 
used to divert the lateral into one large furrow after another, and when 
the furrow is filled dirt is thrown in to prevent the reflow of the water 
into the lateral. 

The great variety in large furrow practice is suggested in the fore- 
going. A systematic manner of proceeding is that of Mr. A. Trost, 
of Palermo, California, as described by himself: 

The soil is red, gravelly clay, the upper 12 inches without rocks ; below 
this the gravel is more rock. At the depth of 3 or 4 feet the red clay changes 
into a whitish one and water enters it very slowly. My orchard is 12 acres — 
1,120 feet long from north to south and 510 feet from east to west. The 
northeast corner is the highest. Here the water ditch enters, and I run 
my head ditch along the east side from north to south. There are 51 rows 
of trees in that direction, the north and south outside rows being olives. 
There are 23 orange trees in the row from east to west and 1 olive tree on 
the west end. All trees are 20 feet apart. I use 24 miner's inches per day 
for 5 days in the following manner: I use 4 furrows about 5 or 6 inches deep 
and about 3 feet apart between rows, leaving the rows nearest the trees 
from 5 to 6 feet from the trunks. The 4 lower rows on the west side I cross 
furrow with 2 furrows between the trees. I divide the 24 inches into 51 
equal streamlets by using one gate for each 4 rows. First turn this amount 
in the furrow south nearest to tree. When the water has moved to the olive 



FOOTHILL IRRIGATION 195 

tree, I divide the water between the 4 furrows for the lower 6 trees and 
through the cross furrows. The next morning I divide the water at the 
tenth tree for the 4 furrows. On the third day I let only one-half the water 
go down in the furrow south of tree, the other in the one north nearest 
to tree. On the fourth day I turn part of it in the middle furrows near 
the head ditch, and by the fifth day I have my place equally wet from one 
end to the other, taking care that the top soil near the trunks of trees re- 
mains dry on the surface. I keep the soil around the trunks of the trees 
about 2 inches higher for a width of 3 feet. In this way I use all the water 
without running any oflf, and lose only the evaporation. The whole amount 
of water used is 120 inches, equal to 10 inches or 130,000 gallons per acre 
or 4.5 acre-inches or 1,200 gallons per tree. 

I irrigate about every four weeks, running the water five days and turning 
it on again three weeks after it is taken off. I have irrigated as early as the 
1st of April and as late as the middle of October, depending on late rains 
in spring and early rains in fall ; usually from five to six irrigations per year. 
After four or five days I cultivate 14 feet wide between the trees from 6 to 8 
inches deep; for this I use a 7-foot cultivator and four horses. Near the 
trunk of the tree I work about two inches deep and a little farther away 4 
inches deep, using the three-cornered orchard plow with a cultivator 4 feet 
wide and two horses. 

Irrigation by Large Furrows Without Suninier Cultivation. — 
An exception to the continuous cultivation of orchard ground which is 
prevalent in the irrigated regions of the Pacific Coast is found in the 
foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California, where furrows are made 
at the beginning of each irrigating season and used continuously during 
that summer. The ensuing winter plowing and early spring cultiva- 
tion are relied u])on to keep the soil in good condition. Although this 
constitutes an exception and the practice is widely followed for what 
seems to the growers of the region to be a good and sufficient reason, 
it does not militate against the truth of the continuous summer cultiva- 
tion policy which elsewhere prevails, nor does it follow that this policy 
would not be better in some respects even in the region where it is 
abandoned. It is a district of very large water supply, and the arrange- 
ments of the water company are such that the grower mu.st pay for a 
certain number of inches of water by the year, and is entitled to this 
amount of continuous flow. He has to use it or neglect it as it flows, 
and can not get more at one time by not using it at another. For this 
reason he has not the motive for close observation which prevails under 
other conditions, and to escape the cost of summer cultivation and fresh 
furrowing out he has recourse to frequent flows in the old furrows. 
The following interesting account of the prevailing method was pre- 
pared by Mr. W. R. Fountain, of Newcastle : 

Water is supplied almost exclusively by one comoany, which has met 
requirements up to date, and seems fixed to supply in excess of demand. It 
is supplied by the miner's inch; price $45 per inch per season for a constant 
supply. The inch is measured under 6-inch pressure. 

Beginning May 1st, five months is called the irrigating season, but the 
purchaser can haA'e the water twelve months per annum if he wants it. The 
water company collects monthly. The purchaser cannot start the season 
with little and increase at pleasure, except upon payment for the full season 
on the basis of the largest amount used at any time. 



196 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



With this constant supply we use it constantly, piping to high points and 
moving it from place to place. When no fruit is ripening it is attempted to 
water a block of trees in twenty-four hours. The water is not checked back, 
but is run in ditches, mostly in one, but occasionally in two, along each row 
of trees or vines. When a variety of fruit is ripening more water is given 
the trees, while after a variety is picked and before any other is nearly ripe 
the effort is made to water each tree every ten or twelve days. Level land 
and low spots stand a good chance, as a rule, to get too much water, and a 
larger stream is used per row to force the water through quickly. Then it 
is taken off in a shorter time than it would be where the trees are on a side- 
hill and have a good drainage. 

About 1 inch for each 8 acres is generally used. This is for deciduous 
fruits. The citrus fruits and berries require watering about once a week; if 
there is good drainage they would prosper if watered every three days. In 
such ground I have not heard of their getting either too much water or too 
much fertilizer. The general practice is to plow, cross plow, and then after 
each rain cultivate, with no cultivation whatever after beginning the use of 
water. I think an occasional cultivation after watering would help. 

There is a tendency for the ditches to become packed after water has 
been flowing through them for some time, in which case but little water 
soaks into the ground. When this occurs I dig a pot hole in the ditch to 
allow the water to soak in, or else loosen the ground about the trees with 
a spade and carry the ditch through this loosened ground. I block out my 
ditches so that I can get my stream through the last tree in about sixteen 
hours. Where the water has not reached the end of some of the ditches, I 
turn the water into it from a stream that is flush, and by keeping a man 
with a hoe constantly with the water, I manage to get it over the field at 
about 4 p. m. I wet about 350 trees in a block on hillsides; on a flat I wet 
less, usinor more water in each stream, and changing it about every twelve 
hours instead of every twenty-four hours. i\Iy trees grow about 130 to an 
acre. 

Systematic Distribution of Water on Hillsides. — The Common 

method of carrying water in pipes to the various high points of several 




NEARLY iEVEL 



Zigzag ditches. 

Large furrow system on hillsides with zigzag ditches for distribution, catchment, and 

redistribution. 



HEKP FI'RROWS AT RIVERSIDE 197 

slopes or "irrig'ation faces" from wliicli it can be admitted to large 
furrows crossing- or descending those faces is open to some difficulties 
and disarrangements. P. W. Butler, of Penryn, has had in successful 
operation for several years a system of zigzag ditches for carrying and 
distributing and for catching outflow and redistributing on a lower 
face. This is also a system which makes ditches and furrows but once 
a year, and dispenses with summer cultivation. Mr. Butler's account, 
as illustrated by the accompanying diagrams, is as follows : 

The amount of water generally used in this section for the irrigation of 
deciduous fruit trees is 1 inch to 5 trees of orchard (miner's inch under 6- 
inch pressure), and is applied to each row of trees by one stream of water 
of sufficient quantity to just reach the end of the row. Much of the water 
is tlius wasted because of inability to properly adjust its distribution. It is 
usually run twentj'-four hours, then changed to other parts of the orchard 
until the whole is covered, which takes about three weeks' time, when the 
process is repeated, continuing throughout the summer, or from May 1 until 
October 1. There is no cultivation in the meantime, and at each irrigation 
the water is run in the same ditches. This system is followed in nearly all 
the orchards of Penryn and vicinity, some on quite steep hillsides, which 
suffer when the water. is thus applied. I have never liked this method, and 
for many years have used a different system in irrigating all orchards over 
which I have had control. In my home orchard I have a reservoir on the 
highest land, from which water can be conveyed as desired to every part. 
My ditches are run on a grade with a fall from 2 to 3 inches to the rod and 
from 5 to 8 feet apart. At each irrigation the water is run about thirty-six 
hours before changing. The round of the orchard is made in ten to four- 
teen days. None of my small ditches exceeds 400 feet in length. When I be- 
gin to irrigate a section I turn on from the reservoir water sufficient to 
cover that section in a few hours, then lessen it until it just reaches the end 
of each row, but see that it reaches the end of each row if a little surplus 
passes over. This surplus I take up in a main ditch, to be again used on 
lower ground. This is continued until the lowest part of the orchard is 
reached, and very little water is ever wasted. By running on a grade that 
is so nearly level the water is applied uniformly, even on the driest parts of 
the hill slopes. I run the main distributing ditches in a zigzag manner, tak- 
ing water from these ditches to cover the lower sections. T formerly used 
pipes to lead the water down the steepest grades, but this system I have 
abandoned and now use open zigzag ditches for mains. From the main 
zigzag ditches I do not take the water at the turning point, as there is more 
liability of breakage than if taken when running straight, or at whatever 
point is necessary to keep the distributing ditches on an average of 8 feet 
apart. The length of the zigzag ditches varies according to the slope of the 
hillside. When steep, the ditch, before turning, must be of greater length 
than where the ground is more level. (See diagram.) I use no gates, but 
bush the openings with coarse swale hay. I also bush the turning points of 
ditches as they are in permanent use throughout the season, and after the 
first few days' use require but little care to keep them in order. These 
ditches are torn up during the season of cultivation and have to be renewed 
every j^ear. 

I use a level set on a frame 8.25 feet long and about 2.5 feet high (one 
leg longer than the other) to make any grade desired. Then I drag its length 
on the ground after getting the level, and can mark the line of ditch nearly 
half as fast as a man can walk. 

During the last ten years I have used many thousand feet of pipe in irri- 
gating, but have found it too expensive to be practicable, and it frequently 
gets clogged, causing much trouble. The zigzag method of taking the water 
dovvn liills on the dry ridges, distributing to right and left, picking it up 
again in zigzag ditches at the end of the rows or system, to be used again 



98 



CALIFORNIA FRl'ITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



on lower ground, brings into use tlic largest (|uatitity where it is most needed 
and utilizes it all without waste. 

Irrigating by Small Furrows. — It has already been suggested 
that recently the small furrow method of irrigation is undergoing 




Newer system of furrow irrigation at Riverside, Cal. 

certain modifications. The occasion for the change is that in certain 
of the heavier soils, particularly, the use of water in many shallow 
furrows followed by cultivation results in the formation of a compact 
layer, and this prevents the percolation of the water into the subsoil. 
This discovery led many Southern growers to resort to fewer and 
deeper furrows, and to new devices to enable the tree to get the benefit 
of the water. There has been wide use of the subsoil plow, with a 
wedge-shaped foot attached to a slim standard rising to the ordinary 
beam. The standard opposes its thin edge to the soil so as to cleave it 
with the least difficulty, and the foot, passing through or beneath the 
hardpan, lifts and breaks it. The result of the subsoiling is to open 
a way for the water to sink and spread below the hardpan. It is usual 
to run this plow once through the center of the interspace between the 
rows of trees, sometimes at right angles to the irrigation furrows. 
When this is done the water is admitted to the furrows as usual, but 
instead of flowing along smoothly it drops into the track of the sub- 
soiler and runs there a long time before rising again to continue its 
course down the furrow. It is the experience of some growers that 
the water has taken five or six days to reach the lower end of the 
furrows, a distance which would have been covered in twenty-four 
hours if the subsoiler had not intervened. This has been shown to 
result in much water for the subsoil and a notable invigoration of trees 
which had been famishing, although shallow-furrow irrigation had 
proceeded regularly. 



CONDITION'S FOR DEEP Fl'RROW I XC, 



199 



Recent changes in the furrow method at Riverside, CaHfornia, are 
described by Mr. J. TT. Reed as follows : 

The handling of the water in the orchard has materially changed in re- 
cent years. Instead of flooding up, basining, or using shallow furrows, deep 
furrows, from 3 to 5 feet apart, are most generally used. In heavy adobe 
soils more furrows are used than in the more porous granite soils. The 
most usual length of furrows is 40 rods. Every precaution is taken to liave 
the surface wetted as little as possible. 




fbkiMtSMi-- 



Irrigation of fruit trees by large furrows between rows. 



The amount of water run at a time is materially lessened. Fomerly 
the common practice was to run 3 inches per acre for twenty-four hours 
each thirty days. Now, 2 inches continuous run for seventy-two hours is 
found to serve a much better purpose, except on loose soils. The general 
practice in the valley is to irrigate once each thirty days. A few of the most 
careful orchardists had found that by intelligent and thorough manipulation 
of the soil they obtained as favorable results from the application of water 
every sixty days or more, using the same amount as they formerly did at 
intervals of half that time. The writer has watched with much interest an 
eight-year-old orchard that during the three years preceding the present re- 
ceived in all but ten irrigations, the usual amount of water being used only 
at each four irrigations the first year and three irrigations each the second 
and third years, with results comparing favorably with those on trees of the 
same age on the same soil in neighboring orchards that received the ordi- 
nary thirty-day irrigations. While there are few orchardists who have the 
skill and patience required to secure such results, they show the possibilities 
of improved cultivation in conserving moisture. So long as water is abun- 
dant and not expensive, more frequent irrigations will probably be generally 
practiced; but the advantage of running the water for a longer time, in fur- 
rows as deep as possible, covering the saturated bottoms as soon as prac- 
ticable and keeping the surface perfectly pulverized and in loose condition, 
is being generally recognized. 

The usual practice is now to have six deep furrows in 20- foot 
spaces. The number varies according to the character of the soil, but 



CEMENT IN IRRIGATION 



201 



is in. any case less than in the small, shallow furrow system which 
formerly prevailed. 

The recourse to deeper furrows and to the subsoil plowing- has 
been made in several citrus fruit districts of Southern California. Its 




The V-shaped "Crowder" and Metal Dams or "Tapoons." 

success depends upon conditions. There arc cases in which too deep 
use of the subsoiler has admitted the water at a point too low for best 
results to the tree which grows on a leachy subsoil, and the cutting- of 
roots by the subsoiler has in some cases brought shallow-rooting trees 
into temporary distress. The general conclusion, however, is that 
deeper introduction of water favors deeper rooting and is very econom- 
ical of water by preventing the loss by evaporation from the surface, 
which, theoretically, is dry, but which actually, with shallow furrows 
over an irrigation hardpan, becomes too often saturated over nearly 
the whole space between the trees. 

Cement Pipes and Flumes for the Furrow System. — The use of 
cement in the construction of flumes has largely increased because, by 
means of locally devised machinery, continuous cement flume has been 
cheapened so that its first cost is less than that of lumber flume where 
suitably durable lumber is high. Similar machinery is used for the 
construction of continuous cement pipe, which is replacing open laterals 
in carrying water from main ditches to the land of individual irrigators. 
This pipe is made by a machine constructed by two Riverside men who 
are both machinists and practical orchardists. Sand and barrels of 
cement are distributed along the line ahead of the machine, as shown 
in the background of the picture. The mixing is done in flat boxes, 



202 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



each being carried forward when emptied. One of the Hnes of large 
rubber hose conveys steam to the head of the cyhnder of the machine 
and the other returns the spent steam. The mixed cement and sand 
is carried to the feeding box (shown in vertical position in the trench), 
from which it is dropped into the steel pipe form below. Steam pres- 
sure is then brought to bear upon it and then cut off by the lever ; 
loose earth is thrown around the steel forming-cylinder as it moves 
forward and is firmed by the operator's feet, ready to sustain the walls 




Continuous cement flume with weirs to raise water to outlet tubes. 



of the new pipe as the cylinder is withdrawn from it. More loose 
earth is thrown over the new pipe, which is allowed to harden before 
the trench is filled. 

Continuous cement flume is made in a similar manner, the machine 
working on the surface and the required pressure being given by a 
strong lever instead of by steam power. Instead of a cylindrical form, 
one to properly shape the flume is used. After this form is moved and 
before the cement hardens, grooves are made at intervals in the side 
walls to insert board dams to raise the water so that it will flow out 
of zinc tubes with gates, which are also put in place while the cement 
is plastic. Not only is such flume sometimes cheaper than board flumes, 
as stated above, but annoyance of leaking and cost of extensive repairs 
are done away with. 



SOURCES OF IRRIGATION WATER 203 

The Board Flume and the Furrow System. — Although in the 
older regions the cement flume is advancing in popularity, important 
service will always be rendered by the homemade board flume where 
suitable lumber is cheap. A detailed account of its construction and 
operation will be widely useful. The following is contributed by Mr. 
A. S. Bradford, of Orange County ; 




Board flume and furrow irrigation at Fullerton. 

T consider the board flume best because it is in manj^ places cheapest 
and because it will last fifteen or twenty years in California if made of good 
soft redwood. The common redwood lumber is generally so, but the so- 
called flume lumber is hard, generally, and will warp the flume out of shape. 
Even in the common redwood lumber hard pieces will be found, and these 
should be avoided. My first flume has been in use nine years and is appar- 
ently as good as ever. 

The first thing to be considered is getting a flume put in properly, as 
this alone will cause much trouble if not done right. A flume should run 
nearly on a level. It should be placed about two-thirds in the ground at the 
commencement, and. as soon as it comes out of the ground to about two- 
thirds of its height, there should be a drop made of 1, 2, or 3 inches, if neces- 
sary, and then carried along as before, so as to keep the entire length of 
flume practically on a level. 

Sixteen-foot lumber is better than longer, as it is lighter to handle. I 
prefer 8-inch sides with 18-inch bottom, or, in some cases, 10-inch sides with 
16-inch bottom. The first section, however, should be about 2 feet wide, 
narrowed to the size of the flume, so as to control the stream. Collars should 
be put around the flume every 8 feet of distance; that is, one in the center 
and one to cover the joints at each end. These collars should be 2 by 3 inch 
stufT on the bottom and sides and 1 by 3 inches on top. This makes a 
strong, durable flume. The length of the flume should be divided, so that 
the stream will decrease as it goes along. The width should be decreased 
also, say from 16 inches to 14, 12, 10, and 8 inches, the sides being the same 
throughout or reduced so as to have 10-inch sides on the 16-inch bottom 
and 8-inch sides on the rest, nailed to the side of the bottom, making 7 
inches depth inside. Two-inch holes should be about 30 inches apart and 
2-inch gates placed on the inside instead of outside, as they will collect less 
trash, the hole through the wood, if uncovered, making a lodgment for 
leaves, etc. In the narrow and flat flume it is much easier to fix the gates. 

From 8 to 9 furrows for trees set 24 feet apart is sufficient. The streams 
should be run from one-eighth to one-half the capacity of the holes in the 



204 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

flume, according to the soil and fall of ground. I commence the stream 
small and increase it if necessary later on. The streams should be kept as 
near together as possible, and when the end is reached the gate should be 
nearly closed down, so as to allow the stream to just trickle to the end. 
In this manner the soil will become thoroughly wet from one end to the 
other. The streams should be run very slowly on most of our soils. A great 
many failures have been made on hard soils by running the stream too large 
and then reducing it. This seems to "slick" or cement the soil so that it 
will not take the water, and the consequence is a poor and unsatisfactory 
irrigation. On the other hand, if the streams are started small and allowed 
to soak the ground as they go along, it is simply astonishing how much 
water can be put in the ground. On sandy soils the streams should be 
larger. A little practice would give any one the desired information. 

About three rows of trees at the lower end should be blocked up, pro- 
vided one has no place where the overflow water could be used. This last 
provision is the better, however, as there would be only about 10 inches of 
water run over the last three or four hours, and a thorough job would be 
done from one end to the other. 

In making furrows I have an extension made for my cultivator to bolt on 
each side and use four plows. With this extension I can wet the whole 
ground thoroughly. The furrows will extend under the limbs of the trees, 
and by making a slight curve around each tree the ground will become wet 
in the rows as well as between. 

As compared with the check system, the furrow method, properly 
handled, makes the soil light and loose, while the check system is apt to 
pack the soil, rendering it lifeless and leaving it so that it will not retain 
moisture long. Besides, the cost of ridging and extra labor in handling 
water in checks for one season will nearly pay for the flume by which one 
man can do the irrigating. Two horses will furrow out 10 acres in half 
a day, and a little hand labor at the flume will connect the furrows. In the 
check system generally a disk is run first where the ridges are to be made, 
and then the ridgcr is run with four horses; then jump scraper is run to stop up 
one side of the blocks; then ditches must be made; then from 2 to 3 men 
are required to handle the water by shutting up the checks when filled. 
Afterwards the ridges must be plowed down before the ground can be har- 
rowed and got in condition to cultivate. At a glance one can see that it 
costs fully three times as much to irrigate bv the check system as by the 
furrow system, and with the latter the soil acts more as it does after a rain. 



DEVELOPMENT AND STORAGE OF WATER 

It is, obviously, beyond the limitations of this work to attempt an 
extended review of irrigation enterprises and practices. The enter- 
prises undertaken by capitalists, or by co-operation among settlers, 
require the services of competent engineers. All these matters are too 
great in extent and variety to be discussed in this work. As, however, 
it has been the aim of the writer to aid the inexperienced planter to 
help himself in small efforts, a little space will be given to suggestions 
as to how a planter may develop and use such small water supply as 
may be derived from spring, small creek or well, on his own land 
without employing an engineer. 

Running lines for Irrigating Ditches. — How far to go up a 
creek in order to bring water out upon a given piece of land is a ques- 
tion which frequently arises in individual practice. There is also 



LOCATING DITCH LINES 



205 



doubt as to how much fall sliould he giveu to tlic ditch. The fall 
required by a ditch or canal depends upon the amount of water which 
it is desired that it shoidd discharge, and upon the width and depth 
with which it is intended that the water should flow. It may also be 
dependent upon the character of the soil in which the ditch is to be 
constructed, and upon the peculiarities of the water itself. A strong 
current in soft soil may cause mischievous erosions. Water carrying 
much sediment must never be allowed to move sluggishly, as clear 



£ 




A homemade leveling instrument. 



water sometimes may. ft is best to state the recjuirements to a compe- 
tent engineer and act on his suggestion, or secure the counsel of a 
neighbor who has had experience with similar soil and water. 

Having decided what fall to give the ditch, the nearest point at 
which water can be taken out of the creek to be brought to a certain 
piece of land is found by commencing with the point at which the 
water is to be delivered (generally the highest point of the land to be 
irrigated), and running up stream a line which has the inclination 
intended for the ditch. 

To stake out this line when no special hindrances are in the way, 
use a homemade leveling instrument constructed as follows: 



With sound, straight-edged lumber a triangle is made, as indicated in the 
sketch. The three pieces, A B, 6 feet long, B C, 12 feet long, and C A, 4 feet 
long, are made fast to each other at A, B, and C. The board, A D, is fastened 
to the triangle at right angles to B C. Near A, on the board, A D, a plumb-line 
is made fast. The plumb, like a mason's plumb, hansgs in a hole at F, so that 
when A D \?> vertical, the string hangs verj' near the surface of the board, A D. 

It will be seen that when A D is exactly vertical, 5 C is exactly horizontal, if 
the angles at D are true right angles. An ordinary carpenter's square used in 
the construction of the apparatus will insure sufficient accuracy in the position 
of AD. 

In marking on the board, A D, however, the line in which the string of the 
plumb will hang when 5 C is exactly horizontal, more care is required. Two 
pegs are driven, as far apart as B and C, for these points to rest on. The high- 
est one is driven into the ground until the plumb-line follows about the center 
line of the board, A D. Having marked this position of the plumb-line, the tri- 



206 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



angle is reversed so that the end B rests on the peg where before we had the 
end C, and vice versa. Should the plumb-line be in a position at variance witli 
the first one marked on the board, then the correct position for the B C horizon- 
tal will be exactly in the middle between the two found by the aid of the two 
pegs. 

It will frequently be found convenient to have a scale of feet marked off on 
B C. Holes in the pieces A B and C A at E E, or handles, will make the tri- 
angle convenient to carry. Only two men are necessary in using it. 




Starting with the "Jump Scraper" to close a row of gates. 



To use this instrument for locating the Hne of the ditch, calculate 
the amount which your line should rise between each two pegs. Drive 
a peg at the starting point with its top say six inches from the general 
surface of the ground. Hold one end of the leveling- apparatus above 
this peg by exactly that amount which the line rises per each instru- 
ment length (B C), and swing the other end around into the direction 
from which the ditch is to come, until, when level, it is just six inches 
above the ground. Drive a peg here, which will, like the first, be six 
inches high, and proceed as before. Care should be taken to give the 
top of each peg exactly the correct elevation. The level must be 
horizontal when resting on any peg, and raised exactly that amount 
which the line rises per level length, above the preceding peg. It will 
be found convenient to use a carefully prepared block to hold on the 
top of each stake at the rear end of the level instead of trusting to 
measurement each time. 

Locating Contour Lines for Checks or for Distributing Ditches. 

— This work can be done with the aid of the level above described. 



STORAGE OF WATER 207 

For instance, to locate a contour (a line of equal elevation), as 
required in the construction of a check levee, drive a peg until its top 
has a convenient elevation from the ground, say one foot. Rest one 
end of the triangle on this peg and swing the other around until, when 
5 C is horizontal, this other end has exactly the same elevation from 
the ground as the top of the peg. At this point drive a second peg and 
proceed as before. If the tops of the pegs be chosen as the height of 
the levee, they may be retained as grade stakes as well as line stakes 
for the embankment. 

Storing Water from Small Sources. — For individual uses quite 
a respectable water supply can sometimes be developed from apparently 
mean sources. This can be done by clearing out and opening up hill- 
side springs, and often by tunneling into the hillside to intercept sub- 
terranean water-flows, or by pumping from a well. Even a small 
spring, yielding but two quarts per second, would be sufficient to 
irrigate several acres in fruit trees. To derive the greatest benefit from 
small springs, however, a reservoir is necessary, in which the flow of 
twelve to twenty-four hours, or even a longer period, can be accumu- 
lated, and then discharged as required. It is by using water in driblets 
that many springs are wasted. A spring supplying even one and a half 
inches of water would be wholly swallowed up by a thirsty soil within 
two hundred feet of its source, when, by arresting the flow and accumu- 
lating it in a reservoir and discharging at intervals in a volume four 
times as large, it would more than cover eight times the surface. A 
spring flowing two quarts per second will discharge forty-three thou- 
sand two hundred gallons in twenty-four hours. This would require 
a reservoir forty by twenty feet, and seven feet deep, or double that 
width if the depth is decreased one-half. The shallower it can be 
made the better, for many reasons, but especially on account of the 
temperature of the water. That of springs is generally too low in 
summer for immediate use, and its value is greatly enhanced by being- 
raised to an equal or greater temperature than that of the air. This 
is quickly done by exposure in a shallow pond. A reservoir can be 
constructed entirely in the ground where the slope will admit of it, 
and by lining the bottom and sides with clay well puddled, will answer 
for most purposes. Some are built of adobe, backed with earth and 
plastered on the inner side with hydraulic cement. Concrete of lime, 
sand, and broken stone, is, however, the best material, where lime can 
be readily obtained, and any person with ordinary mechanical skill can 
construct them. The following hints on a dirt reservoir may be sug- 
gestive : 

.\ reservoir should be built on the highest part of the tract sought to 
be irrigated by scraping the earth from the outside and from such a large 
area as not to afifect the utility of the land from which it is taken. With a 
levee all around 5 feet high, 5 feet of water could be carried safely. The 
slopes ought to be two to one on the inside. A reservoir 20 feet square 



208 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

and 4 feet deep would hold 12,000 gallons. With the slopes as above the 
reservoir should be measured two feet from the bottom, or half way up the 
4 feet of water; consequently to lay out a reservoir to hold 12,000 gallons, 
put the stakes 12 feet square and build. For any other size one take 8 feet 
ofif the same as in this: A reservoir 25 feet square will hold 18,750 gallons 
and would be 17 feet square at the bottom; one 30 feet square would hold 
27,000 gallons and would be 22 feet at the bottom; one 35 feet square — 27 
at' the bottom — will hold 36,000 gallons; one 40 feet square — 32 on the bot- 
tom — will hold 48,000 gallons. This spread upon the surface of an acre 
would be a little more than 1^ inches of rainfall. 

Almost any loam soil will hold water with a little puddling. The cheapest 
way to puddle is to build a pen the size of the intended reservoir, including 
at least a portion of that to be under the embankment, wet it very wet, 
put some hogs in the pen and keep feeding them barley, a little at a time, 
so as to make them not only walk around but root for the barley. A half 
sack of barley fed to eight or ten hungry hogs in half a day will make a 
good puddle. If it did not work satisfactorily, the water could be taken off 
and the bottom covered about an inch deep with coarse sand mixed one 
part to five with Portland cement, put in dry, and let it be covered slowly. 
A barrel of cement may be counted at about 4 cubic feet and with the 
mixture above would cover the first-named reservoir about IM inches. This 
would make it tight. The supply pipe should come up from the bottom, so 
that the lift would never be more than the height of the surface. 

Loss of Water by Seepage. — The great loss of water by seepage 
during a long run has led to the cementing of ditches, and to the use 
of miles of large wooden, concrete and iron pipe by the irrigation 
companies of Southern California; also, where the slope is rapid, 
paving ditches with rock has been resorted to. Similar efforts naturally 
suggest themselves to the user of a small water supply to save his 
flow from loss. The lining of ditches to prevent seepage is being 
tested by the California Experiment Station at Berkeley, and publica- 
tion of results is being made.* Where lumber is cheap the use of a 
board flume is an available means of saving water, when the soil is 
coarse and leachy. 

Irrigation from Flowing Wells. — A considerable area of orchard 
is irrigated from flowing wells in different parts of the State. Nearly 
everywhere in the artesian districts there are local well-borers who 
have kept records of the strata traversed in their work, and can 
estimate closely the cost of securing water by this method. 

Lifting Water from Flowing Ditch or Stream. — Where a stream 
has a rapidity of two miles or more per hour, and a lift to a height of 
six to sixteen feet will give head enough to distribute the water over 
a considerable area, there is nothing cheaper than the current wheel 
which is largely used in this State. The engraving gives an end view 
of such a wheel. Eight pairs of arms, carrying flat buckets like those 
of a steamboat paddle-wheel, extend from a hub rotating on metal 
bearings. At either end, or both ends, of each bucket are fixed wooden 
or tin water boxes which fill themselves on entering the water, and 



* Bulletin 188, Univcrsitv of (California Experiment Station; also Pacific Rural Press, 
November 12, 1910. 




209 



210 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

on being brought to the highest point of rotation empty themselves 
into a receiving trough. This trough suppHes the distributing ditches, 
etc., and its inner end is so placed that it comes under the projecting 
buckets of the wheel without interference with the motion of the arms. 
The current of water in the channel underneath forces the buckets 
down stream, the latter delivering in the opposite direction at the top. 
by using a double set of boxes, one at each end of each bucket, the 
water may be delivered on both sides simultaneously. A little experi- 
menting will indicate the proper size boxes, which depends upon the 
velocity and volume of water in the channel, as well as the amount to 
be delivered. 







End view of irrigating wheel. 

At the Fancher Creek Nursery, in Fresno County, a wheel is used 
eighteen feet in diameter, and carries sixteen buckets, which empty 
into a trough sixteen feet above the ditch. The wheel lifts about one 
cubic foot in two seconds. 

PUMPING FOR IRRIGATION 

The use of pumps for irrigation is continually increasing. The 
capacity of pumps, their ease and cheapness of operation in this land 
of oil wells and of ponderous waterfalls whose power can be trans- 
formed into electric energy, warrant the conclusion that in many places 
water can be lifted from below more cheaply than it can be brought 
long distances by ditch ; and that the supply is more constant and 
subject to the users' command and convenience. In all parts of the 
State well-boring and digging and pump construction have advanced 
very rapidly. Pumping plants of all capacities, from the greatest of 
the gasoline class, lifting five thousand gallons per minute from a 
depth of twenty-five feet, down to the plant with a throw of three 
hundred gallons per minute, all styles of motors and pumps are being 
constantly multiplied. These plants are being placed upon wells in 



I liE MINER S INCH 



211 



the orchard or iti the vicinity, or upon adjacent streams or ponds. 
Many new designs by California inventors are coming into use. It 
v^ould require a volume to contain any adequate account of California's 
recent progress in these lines. Economic pumping is governed by so 
many considerations that no general statement would be conclusive in 
any specific case. Each orchardist must ascertain his own conditions 
and then confer with trustworthy manufacturers or their agents as to 
what will meet his requirements.* 



WATER MEASUREMENT 

The Miner's Inch. — Although the miner's inch, as commonly 
measured, is open to objection because of inaccuracy, from an engineer's 
point of view, it is so easily applied that it must remain a popular 
recourse. It consists in causing the water to flow through an opening, 










p/ip'^ — 



Measuring miner's inches in a small stream or ditch. 



the capacity of which is known, and which is readily capable of adjust- 
ment to the flow in any case. A simple form of this device and its 
use is shown in the illustration, which represents a board 1 inch thick, 
12 inches wide, and about 8 feet long. The opening is 1 inch wide and 
50 inches long, and the distance from the top of the board to the center 
of the opening is exactly 4 inches on the up-stream side. On the 
down-stream side the opening is beveled so that the hole presents sharp 
edges to the stream. A sliding board is hung upon the top of the 
first board, with a strip screwed along its upper edge, this sliding 
board being wide enough to cover the opening on the up-stream side. 
In the slot there is a closely-fitting block, made to slide on the beveled 
edges and fastened by a screw to the sliding board. It is obvious, 
then, that when the sliding board is moved backward or forward, by 

* Full details of the cost and flow from pumps drawing from various depths and operated 
by various motors are given in the publications of the irrigation investigations to which refer- 
ence has previously been made. 



212 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

iiu-aiis of its end, which is extended fur a handle, the hlock moves in 
the slot and determines the length of the opening. 

In operation the board is placed in the stream as shown in the 
iigure, so as to dam the flow completely, and the sliding board is 
moved backward and forward until the water is all passing through 
the slot, the water being kept up to the top of the board, or 4 inches 
above the center of the opening. The length of the opening measures 
the number of miner's inches of water flowing through. If the flow 
is too great to pass through the opening 1 inch wide, the opening may 
be made wider, the water still to be kept 4 inches above the center of 
the opening. The laws of several States provide that in devices for 
measuring water for sale by the miner's inch the opening shall be 6 
inches high and shall be provided with a slide as shown in the picture. 
The number of miner's inches then discharged is equal to the number 
of square inches in the opening. The assumption made that the 
discharge is proportional to the size of the opening is not true, but the 
error in measuring small quantities is not great enough to be taken 
into consideration. By converting the results of measurements in 
miner's inches to gallons, cubic feet, or some other familiar unit, it 
may be determined how long it will take the stream to fill a reservoir 
or cover a given field with the necessary depth of water. This unit 
is readily convertible into cubic feet or gallons or acre-inches of water, 
according" to the time the water flows. 

The following data will be helpful in computations : One miner's 
inch, as described above, equals 0.1496 gallons per second, 8.976 gal- 
lons per minute, 538.56 gallons per hour, 12,925.44 gallons per day; 
0.02 cubic foot per second, 1.2 cubic feet per minute, 72 cubic feet per 
hour. One acre-inch of water (that is, 1 inch in depth over an acre 
of surface) equals 27,152 gallons, or 3,630 cubic feet, and 1 miner's 
inch will supply this quantity in about 50.4 hours. Thus a simple 
calculation shows that a little stream of 5 miner's inches will supply 
enough water to cover an acre 2.3 inches deep in about 23 hours — a 
fair amount for one irrigation of soil of average character if it has 
not been allowed to become too dry before the application. In fact 
this is an average amount actually used for an irrigation of shallow- 
rooted plants like most field and garden crops. 

Weir Measurement. — The term "weir" is not always understood 
by those who use it. The term can properly be used only for structures 
designed to allow the water to flow over the crest with a considerable 
fall on the down-stream side. There are a large number of forms of 
weirs, taking their names from the shape of the weir notch, or' the 
form of crest. The triangular weir has a V-shaped notch. The 
rectangular weir has a horizontal crest with vertical sides. Both of 
these forms of weir are good, when used by the expert irrigator or 
engineer who understands the principles and factors which enter into 
their calculations. In order to avoid the variable factors which enter 



WEIR MEASUREMENT 



213 



into the calculations for the flow of water over weirs, Cipoletti invented 
the form of weir which has taken his name and which is in general 
use throughout the irrigated sections of the world. 




„ , ' ^1 . M 

Weir box in operation showing post from which to measure depth of stream. 

The Cipoletti Weir. — The Cipoletti Weir has a thin horizontal 
crest, the sides of the weir notch sloping back from the vertical at an 
angle equal to one inch in horizontal for every four inches in vertical. 
This, for each additional inch in depth the weir notch widens on each 
side one-fourth of an inch, or a total addition of width of one-half 
inch. A weir having a length of crest of one foot, and designed to be 
eight inches in depth, will have a top width of notch of 16 inches. 

When the weir box is placed, care should be taken to have the 
bottom of the notch, or crest, level. An ordinary carpenter's spirit 
level may be used for this purpose. When the crest is horizontal, 
one end of the spirit level is placed on the center of the crest, and 
when level the other end will mark the point for the zero of the weir 
gauge. In rough work a nail may be driven part way into the side of 
the box, the top of the nail being level with the crest of the weir. A 
thin plate of brass is to be preferred to a nail. In other cases gauges 
are inserted on the sides of the flumes and properly marked in tenths 
of feet or inches. At other times a post from 1 to 2 inches square is 
placed in the center of the box and several feet above the weir board. 
The top of this post is on a level with the crest. This is the method 
shown in the accompanying sketch. 



214 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

How to Measure Water Over Weirs. — The method to follow 
can best be shown by examples. Let us suppose that a farmer has 
made and placed a box similar to the one shown in the drawing, after 
turning in the water and allowing it some time to attain a uniform 
flow he proceeds to the weir box and with an ordinary rule measures 
the depth of water flowing through the weir notch. Bear in mind that 
this measurement is not made at the weir board, but at the regular 
gauge, whether it be a nail, brass plate or post, as already described. 
We will assume that the depth as found by the rule is 3^ inches. 
Now by referring to the table below he follows down the first column 
until 3y2 is reached. The weir used is one foot, and under the column 
marked "1-foot weir" and opposite the figure 3^ already found, he 
finds the cubic feet per minute or the gallons per minute flowing over a 
1-foot weir when the depth of water is 3}4 inches. The equivalent 
flow in gallons per minute for any given length of weir and depth of 
water over the crest was obtained from the accompanying table : 



^^■EIR MEASUREMENT 



215 



Discharge Over Cipoletti Weirs. 



Depth of wate 


r 
















on crest. 




















1-foot 


weir. 


1 '/2-foot weir 


2-foot 


weir. 


3-foot 


weir. 




•2 .J 


u 
f . 


V 

« . 


0. 


6 "-g 


O-u 




V 


^ . 

CflJ 


V 

X 

u 

c 




m 3 


o in 

It 


a 


1 1: 


'O £ 


c 


M 


1 


.0.08 


36 


0.12 


5S 


0.16 


7Z 


0.24 


109 


1J4 


.0.10 


44 


0.15 


65 


0.19 


87 


0.29 


130 


VA 


.0.11 


51 


0.17 


76 


0.23 


101 


0.34 


152 


m 


.0.13 


59 


0.20 


8? 


0.26 


117 


0.39 


175 


\'A 


.0.15 
.0.17 


67 

75 


0.22 100 
0.25 11:3 


0.30 
0.34 


139 

150 


0.45 
0.50 


2(X) 


IVs 


226 


m 


.0.19 


84 


0.28 \2t 


> 0.38 


168 


0.56 


252 


m 


.0.21 


93 


0.31 14C 


) 0.42 


187 


0.62 


280 


2 


.0.23 
.0.25 


103 
113 


0.34 154 
0.38 16S 


0.46 
> 0.50 


206 

225 


0.68 
0.75 


3m 


2ys 


338 


2% 


.0.27 


123 


0.41 18^ 


0.55 


245 


0.82 


368 


2Vs 


.0.30 


133 


0.44 19c 


> 0.59 


266 


0.89 


399 


2H 


.0.32 


144 


0.48 2 


IE 


0.64 


287 


0.96 


431 


2ys 


.0.34 


154 


0.52 23] 


0.69 


309 


1.03 


464 


2^ 


.0.37 


166 


0.55 24J 


5 0.74 


332 


1.11 


497 


2% 


.0.39 


177 


0.59 262 


' 0.80 


355 


1.18 


531 


3 


.0.42 
.0.45 


189 
201 


0.63 28: 
0.67 301 


! 0.84 
0.90 


378 
402 


1.26 
1.34 


566 


3^ 


602 


3J4 


.0.47 


213 


0.71 319 0.95 


426 


1.42 


639 


3^ 


.0.50 
.0.52 


225 
238 


0.75 338 
0.80 35/ 


\ 1.00 
1.06 


451 
476 


1.51 
1.59 


676 


3^ 


714 


35^ 


.0.56 


251 


0.84 376 1.12 


502 


1.68 


753 


33/4 


.0.59 


264 


0.88 396 1.18 


528 


1.76 


792 


3^ 


.0.62 


277 


0.93 416 1.24 


554 


1.85 


832 


4 


.0.65 
.0.68 


291 
304 


0.97 436 1.30 
1.02 456 1.36 


582 
609 


1.94 
2.04 


872 


4^ 


913 


4^ 


.0.71 


319 


1.07 478 1.42 


637 


2.13 


956 


4V& 


.0.74 
.0.77 


333 
347 


1.11 499 1.48 
1.16 521 1.55 


665 
694 


2.22 
2.32 


998 


4^ 


1,041 


4H 


.0.81 


362 


1.20 543 


1.61 


723 


2.42 


1,084 


43,4 


.0.84 


376 


1.26 564 


1.68 


753 


2.52 


1,129 


47/^ 


.0.87 


391 


1.31 587 


1.74 


782 


2.62 


1,174 


5 


.0.91 
.0.94 
.0.97 


406 
422 
437 


1.36 609 1.81 
1.41 633 1.88 
1.46 656 1.95 


813 
843 
874 


2.72 
2.82 
2.92 


1,219 


51/^ 


1,266 


5^ 


1,312 


SVs 


.1.01 


453 


1.51 67S 


> 2.02 


906 


3.03 


1,359 


5^ 


.1.05 


469 


1.57 70: 


5 2.09 


938 


3.13 


1,407 


55/^ 


.1.08 


485 


1.62 727 


2.16 


970 


3.24 


1,455 


5^ 


.1.12 


501 


1.68 752 


2.23 


1,002 


3.35 


1,503 


5% 


.1.15 


517 


1.73 77 t 


) 2.31 


1.034 


3.46 


1,553 


6 


.1.20 


534 


1.79 801 


2.38 


1,069 


3.57 


1,603 


6^ 










2.46 


1,102 


3.68 


1,653 


6^ 










2.53 


1,136 


3.80 


1,704 


63/^ 










2.61 


1,170 


3.91 


1,755 


61^ 










2.68 


1,205 


4.03 


1,807 


6^ 










2.76 


1,240 


4.14 


1,859 


6^ 










2.84 


1,275 


4.26 


1,912 


6% 










2.92 


1,310 


4.38 


1,966 


7 










3.00 


1,346 


4.50 


2,020 



216 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW TO GROW THEM 

RANDOM SUGGESTIONS 

^^"ithout attempting an impossible thing, to wit, to furnish exphcit 
directions for the practice of irrigation, for much of it every man must 
learn for himself by experience, a few suggestions may be noted, even 
though more important ones do not come to mind. 

Usually water should be prevented from actual contact with the 
trunk of the tree. Citrus trees are especially sensitive to such contact, 
and resent it by "gum disease,'' which was formerly far more preva- 
lent in the State than now. Care must, therefore, be taken not to set 
trees which are to be irrigated, too low. It is better to raise them up 
a little and draw the earth up around them to prevent approach of 
the water, but this must not be overdone. 

If possible, the ditch should be run on the shady side of the tree, 
because reflected sunshine from the water surface may burn the bark. 

In examining soil to ascertain dryness, one must dig deeply, for 
often an upper layer will be fairly moist, if well cultivated, while lower 
layers, where the feeding rootlets are. will be arid. Therefore, when 
trees or vines are suffering, dig far down in examining the soil. 

In irrigating, thorough, deep soaking is necessary, and examination 
must be made to see if an artificial hardpan which prevents the descent 
of the water has been formed. 

Be careful not to continue irrigation too late in the season. It will 
prevent the proper dormancy of deciduous trees, and if more fall 
irrigation is given citrus trees than they need for perfecting the fruit, 
the trees will continue growing tender shoots until they are injured 
by severe frosts. On the other hand, it is often desirable to give decid- 
uous trees a draft of water after the fruit has been gathered, if the soil 
is so dry that the tree is likely to drop its leaves too soon, and wake 
from its dormancy with the first rains. Many times the fall blooming 
of deciduous trees, which is very undesirable, may be prevented by 
keeping them growing later in the summer by moderate irrigation. 

If trees or vines, in regions usually irrigated, are to be grown 
without irrigation, it is important that the grower be more than usually 
thorough and constant with his summer cultivation. In trying the 
non-irrigation experiment, one should, of course, begin with young 
trees which have not been irrigated, and not usually expect success 
by withdrawing the water from trees which have been accustomed to 
it, and have developed a root system accordingly. 



SUB-IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

The word "sub-irrigated" is freely used in California to describe 
land which is moistened below by underflow or seepage from streams 
or springs, or frt)m open irrigation ditches, traversing higher levels. 



DKAIXAGK AXn IRRIGATION 217 

This land is sub-irrig^ated, it is true, but there is no system about it. 
except the natural distribution of water, which is to seek its level. 
Some of our most productive lands are of this character, and where 
the soil and subsoil are fitted to the movement of this living water, 
and not apt to retain it up to the point of saturation, most satisfactory 
growth of deep-rooting field crops and of trees and vines are secured. 
But this is not sub-irrigation in the ordinary signification of the term. 
Several systems of sub-irrigation by subterranean pipes have been 
devised by California inventors, but none have passed beyond the 
experimental stage, and no considerable acreage has been conlimiallv 
operated. 

DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA 

There was for a long time a very erroneous popular generalization 
that California soils do not need drainage ; that in a dry state the aim 
should be to retain the moisture, not to part with it. It is, of course. 
true that we have vast areas of naturally well-drained soil, upon wliicli 
any money spent for drainage would be in great part thrown away, 
but we have, also, both in the valley and on the hillsides, localities 
where, by peculiar character and conformation of the subsoil, water is 
held in the soil until evaporated from the surface, and the result is a 
boggy, miry condition, which prevents pro])er winter cultivation, and 
at the same time injures the roots of the trees or vines. This defective 
cultivation, added to the puddling effect of standing water, makes the 
soil dry out completely under the fervid sun of summer, and the result 
is that the wettest soil of the winter is the driest in the summer, and 
plants which are injured by soaking in winter suffer again from lack 
of moisture and sustenance in summer. Thus it is a fact, clearly 
proven by observation and experience, that thorough under-drainage 
removes surplus water in winter, and ministers to the retention of 
moisture in summer. Afore than this, a soil puddled by standing water 
can not present its contents in available form for plant nutrition, and 
besides, it loses the fertilizing effects of atmospheric currents, which 
pass through an open, well-dried soil. Wet land is cold and late in 
spring, and hot as a baked brick under the summer sun ; it is no fiction 
of the imagination to say that well-drained land is warm in winter 
and cool in summer — that is, cool to a degree which favors quick and 
free root growth, and cool enough to escape the parching effect of 
deeply baked soil. 

These, and a host of similar considerations, which have made 
under-drainage popular in older countries, are of weight in California. 
Possibly, as a rule, because of our vast area of deep, kind loams, the 
proportion of land needing drainage in this State is less than else- 
where, and yet there is a vast extent of country to be improved by 
tilling. There have been large losses of trees from planting upon soils 



218 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HO\\' TO GROW THEM 



defective in this respect. The evil has resulted from excessive rainfall 
and excessive irrigation, either direct or by underflow from adjacent 
irrigations. In some places this latter movement of water has brought 
alkali to assist in the ruin of the trees and vines. The cure is drainage 
to sufficient depth and with good outlet for the drainage water. 

Information on the construction of under-drains is too available 
through other sources to call for its presentation in this connection. 

Drainage and Irrigation. — A special importance attaches to com- 
plete and systematic drainage in connection with irrigation. There 
is pressing need of such provision where the soil has become overloaded 
by seepage water from irrigation ditches, and it is well that people in 
such situations are waking up to the need of coupling drainage outlets 
with their irrigation inlets. Another matter closely allied to this is the 
action of alkali on soils thus artificially watersoaked. This has been 
made the subject of a special publication by Professor Hilgard, to 
which allusion has already been made in Chapter III. Drainage is 
plainly essential, both in individual farms and in districts where the 
water level is rising too high, and the striking statements given below 
by Professor Hilgard should incite all to give immediate attention to 
the needs of vines and trees in this resfard. 




Furrower at work in orange orchard of A. D. Bishop. 



DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 219 

The following summary of drainage needs, and the advantage of 
providing drainage when needed, is made by Professor Hilgard : 

In the valleys and plains of the arid irrigation countries the soils are pre- 
dominantly of a light, sandy or silty nature, easily penetrated to great depths 
by water and air. With these the roots of plants also reach to such depths, 
drawing therefrom not only moisture but also plant food, which in these 
soils is, as a rule, very abundant. The plants of the arid region thus are 
enabled to utilize nearly as many feet of soil mass as in the regions of 
summer rains inches would be drawn upon; and it is evident that this advan- 
tage, which postpones for a long time the need of fertilization, should not 
be lightly thrown away. Each farm in the arid region has several similar 
ones underground, which with proper management can be fully utilized. 

But this presupposes that the water, air and roots can all penetrate under 
irrigated culture as they do in the natural condition. It means that the 
ground water level shall not be allowed to rise to such an extent as to 
prevent the penetration and healthy life of the roots in the depths of the 
soil mass. If by intentional or careless over-irrigation, or by leakage from 
the ditches, the water level is allowed to rise within a few feet of the surface, 
the wonderfully productive lands of the arid valleys are reduced to the same 
condition as are those of the humid countries; a shallow layer of surface 
soil, within which alone the roots can exercise their functions of plant nutri- 
tion. The natural result is that this layer soon becomes exhausted, and 
copious artificial fertilization is required to maintain profitable production. 

And even this is the most favorable case. When, in addition, the upward 
movement of the soil water carries with it the entire mass of salts of various 
kinds which exist in all arid soils, and brings them within reach of surface 
evaporation, these "alkali" salts impregnate the soil to such an extent as to 
render the cultivation of many crops unprofitable, or sometimes altogether 
impossible. 

Summarizing the advantages of systematic land draining it may be said 
that: 

1. It prevents the drowning out of the deeper roots of plants by the rise 
or fluctuations of the ground water, by which the vineyards and orchards 
are so frequently rendered unprofitable. 

2. It prevents, or at least limits definitely, the shallowing of the soil 
caused by high-lying ground water, resulting in the need of early and copious 
fertilization, which would otherwise not have been called for in many years. 
The annual cost of such fertilization will soon exceed the first cost of 
drainage. 

3. Drainage does away definitely with the alkali evil. When drainage is 
tstablished the land can easily be so handled as either to remove all the 
alkali, or to leave in the soil so much of it as may be rationally considered 
beneficial, on account of its usual content of valuable and highly available 
plant food. To prevent the waste of much of this soluble plant food, the 
use of gypsum is also valuable; but subsequent swamping of the land would 
cause a return of the black alkali unless drainage were provided for. 



CHAPTER XVT 
COMMERCIAL FRUIT VARIETIES 

In preparation for revision of this work and to serve also asso- 
ciations of nurserymen and fruit growers who requested specific 
information as to the relative standing of commercial varieties of 
different fruits in the various states which participate in the over- 
land fruit trade, the writer undertook a careful inquiry into the 
present standing- of varieties of the fruits chiefly grown in Cali- 
fornia for commercial purposes. The objects of this inquiry were, 
first to secure exact data which would be of business advantage to 
large propagators of fruit trees; second, to make widely known 
the particular requirements of California production and trade for 
the information of originators of new varieties, which might pre- 
serve, with improvements, types which ministered to specific oppor- 
tunities and demands ; third, to enforce upon local planters the 
conviction that their clearest path toward satisfactory income lies 
in choosing varieties which have demonstrated two fundamental 
characters, viz. : adaptation to the locality and to the uses of the 
fruit trade. 

It may surprise the casual reader to find that our production 
proceeds so largely upon old standard varieties and that the strik- 
ing achievements of Mr. Burbank are not more prominent. Any- 
one, however, who is acquainted with commercial fruit growing 
knows that it is not possible to revolutionize an established and 
profitable industry in less than a decade by the substitution of new 
varieties for the old standards. It takes not less than half that pe- 
riod to determine whether the new variety is really trustworthy 
and suitable, and it takes much longer to get a large acreage in 
l)earing either by grafting or new planting because people are slow 
and conservative in making changes. As the period of trial passes, how- 
ever, Mr. Burbank's varieties are becoming more prominent as is 
to be expected. 

Another reason why new varieties do not figure more largely 
in California fruit growing is the smallness of the amateur interest. 
There is, in fact, almost an absence of pure amateurs — enthusiastic 
critical, discriminating, athirst for novelties. Even suburban plant- 
ers follow the lead of commercial orchardists and plant chiefly 
that which has shown adaptations to local growing conditions, and 
few are averse to making what they can by sale of small surpluses. 
The result is that California fruit growing is almost wholly com- 
mercial in spirit, policy and point of view, which is perhaps only 
natural in a state where the fruit products reach an annual aggre- 

220 



THE MOST POPULAR FRUITS 221 

gate value of something like seventy millions of dollars. The effect is 
to concentrate attention upon varieties which have achieved fame for 
profit, and to repress amateur devotion and indulgencies. 

At the same time there is, and has always been, quite a disposi- 
tion tow^ard trial of novelties among commercial growers, espe- 
cially manifested in search of specific characters which are seen 
to be desirable rather than desire for newness for its own sake, 
which is often a point of pride among amateurs. To this enter- 
prising and discriminating search is due the prominence of some of 
the leading varieties, which are chance seedlings recognized as 
meeting special requirements and having grown great because they 
really did so. The California grower is, therefore, quite certain 
that he needs not varieties new throughout and of startling char- 
acters, but improved varieties which hold the good points of the 
old and add other points. For instance, he calls for trees resistant 
to disease, for improvement of the fruit in beauty, flavor and keep- 
ing qualities; for varieties, similar in kind, which fill gaps in the 
ripening season so that he can employ help continuously, and ship- 
pers and canners agree with him so that they can keep the cars 
moving and the cannery plants at work. The grower says he must 
be careful not to plant something different from what is already 
growing and selling well in his region, and this is also the advice 
of the trade to him. He can not risk much on varieties of entirely 
different types, although most growers are always doing a little 
experimenting. Nor should he undertake too many varieties, be- 
cause a profitable orchard is not a pomological museum. There 
must be a large quantity of uniform fruit to make any district com- 
mercially prominent. 

For these reasons the number of varieties now planted is but a 
fraction of what it was a quarter of a century ago, and, stopping at 
this point, one might get the idea of the California grower was a 
monument of conservatism and lacking in enterprise and adventure. 
Subsequent chapters will, however, show that he has very definite 
ideas of what he wants that is new, and that he has problems 
enough to keep plant breeders busy for a century. This will be 
done for each fruit by citing in its chapter particularly desirable 
characters which California growers, shippers and canners have 
described in response to the wide inquiry upon which this statement 
rests. The writer was fortunate in securing 1,601 observations 
from men who have their livelihood and fortunes involved in profit- 
able growth and handling of California fruits, and what are given 
as specific requirements of new varieties in California are not vain 
imaginings, but deeply felt wants. 

It will be noted by the reader that the preference for certain 
varieties, which is embodied in this statement, does not involve po- 
mological standards as a leading factor. The claim is distinctly not 



222 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

made that these varieties are chosen on the basis of quality, 
beauty, hardiness or health. In the case of nearly all the fruits, 
there are other varieties which might equal or even surpass them in 
one or more of these respects. The choice is made because they 
are most profitable to grow ; not alone because they are good, but 
because they are good for something. This particular suitability 
or serviceability may involve pomological considerations and com- 
mercial and manufacturing considerations as well. The planter 
must use these lists in connection with what he may find about the 
varieties in subsequent chapters, without neglecting to confer also 
with older growers in the district in which he may plan to plant. 

Perhaps an intelligent use of the statement can be concretely 
suggested by briefly discussing the first group of varieties men- 
tioned — the apples most approved in California. First comes the 
yellow Newtown Pippin, and that means that most apples commer- 
cially grown are winter apples and this variety is, on the whole, 
the most profitable of them. But a planter in a hot interior valley 
should usually reject them for all winter apples are apt to be un- 
satisfactory, and, if he plants apples at all, should choose early vari- 
eties like the Red and White Astracan, because they ripen early, 
thus escaping the highest heat and at the same time being ready 
for the early market. 

Similar comments might be made upon other varieties. Some 
years ago the distribution of commercial fruit varieties was taken 
into account in a biological way because it was taken to be certain 
that the grower would select varieties which "did best" in his 
district. Enough has been said to emphasize the fact that the lists 
of fruits are not made of those who do best alone, but of those which 
sell to best advantage, and that has no biological significance what- 
ever. 

The varieties are arranged not according to ripening season but 
in the order in which the greatest number of growers consider 
them worth planting. 

Fruit varieties most popular in California : 

Apples. — Newtown Pippin, Bellflower, E. Spitzenberg, W. W. 
Pearmain, Gravenstein, Red Astracan, W. Astracan, Red June, R. I. 
Greening. 

Apricots.— Royal, Blenheim, Moorpark, Hemskirk, Peach, New- 
castle, Tilton. 

Cherries.— Royal Ann, Black Tartarian, Black Republican, 
Rockport, Bing, Chapman, Purple Guigne, May Duke. Centennial, 
Black Bigarreau, Lambert. 

Peaches.— Muir, Phillips, Salway. Lovell, Early Crawford, 
Tuskena, Foster, Elberta, Late Crawford, Orange Cling, Susque- 
hanna, Nichols, Sellers. Lemon, St. Johns, Henrietta, Mary's 
Choice, Hales, Alexander, Heath. 



THE MOST POPULAR FRUITS 223 

Pears.— Bar tlett. Winter Nelis, Easter, Du Cornice, Doyenne 
D'Ete. Clapp's Favorite, Glout Morceau, Barry, Comet, Sackel. 

Plums.— Wickson, Hun^^arian, Kelsey, Yellow Egg, Tragedy, 
Washington, Satsuma, Burbank. Jefiferson, Climax, Grand Duke, 
Clyman. 

Prunes. — French, Imperial. Sugar. Giant, Robe de Sergeant, 
German. Silver, Splendor. 

Grapes.— Muscat, Tokay, Cornichon. Thompson, Emperor, 
Malaga, Rose of Peru, Zinfandel. Black Morocco, Sweet Water, 
X'erdal, Carignane, Black Prince. Alicante, Sultana. 



CHAPTER XVn 

THE APPLE 

During- the last decade notable progress has been made in apple 
growing in California. The old idea that our conditions did not 
favor excellence in the apple has given away to full assurance that 
in wisely selected elevations and exposures the very highest points 
of size, beauty, flavor, keeping and shipping qualities are secured. 
Even before the wonderfully satisfactory test of both northern and 
southern California apples at the New Orleans World's Fair, it was 
clear that the right variety grown in the right place yields an apple 
in California than which a better can not be grown anywhere, and 
during the last five years California early apples have been in sharp 
request for shipment to all regions of the Northwest and British 
Columbia, and California winter apples have been sold at the high- 
est prices east of the Rocky Mountains and in Europe. Shipments 
be5^ond State lines of above four thousand carloads in 1910 testify 
to these facts. 

Localities for Apples. — Speaking generally, it may be laid down 
that the great valleys of the interior are not well suited to the 
apple; also, there are some situations which are much better than 
others. In the early regions of the Sacramento Valley and foot- 
hills, however, excellent early apples are profitably produced. In 
the great valley and lower foothill region of the State, the late 
apple usually lacks character and keeping quality. On the great 
plains the tree is liable to sunburn, or sun blight, as it is called. 
Some varieties, because of the character of their foliage, are less 
liable to this injury than others, and it is possible that this evil 
may be finally overcome by the selection of varieties with blight- 
proof foliage, as will be mentioned later. In the great valley, how- 
ever, on the rich river-bottom land of the Sacramento and the San 
Joaquin and its tributaries, the apple roots deeply, attains good size, 
bears good fruit, with fair keeping quality, while but a few miles 
away on the plains it is inferior. 

In the interior region of adaptation to the apple lies at an 
elevation on the foothills on both the east and west rims of the great 
valley. Its limits are not well defined, but there are flourishing or- 
chards at an elevation of about four thousand five hundred feet on 
the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and from two thousand 
to three thousand five hundred feet is commonly regarded the best 
apple region of the mountains. The trees attain large size and bear 
heavily, and the fruit, of well-adapted varieties, is large, crisp, juicy 
and has exceptional keeping- qualities. On the Tule River in Tulare 

224 



CONDITIONS FOR THE APPLE 225 

County, at an elevation of 4100 feet, eight-year-old Winesaps have 
borne 300 pounds, Yellow Newtown Pippins 250 pounds, and White 
Winter Pearmains 300 pounds per tree. At such elevations, how- 
ever, there is constant danger of spring frost injury. 

Along the coast the apjjle succeeds well from end to end of the 
State, and very close to the ocean excellent fruit is produced on 
good soil. There is a certain advantage in elevation in the coast 
region as well as in the interior, but the advantage is not so marked 
nor is the required elevation so great. Coast valleys in the central 
and upper portion of the State, where the soil is suitable, produce 
most excellent apples, but even here the lower hillsides, with deep, 
well-drained soils, are, perhaps, preferable to the floors of the valley. 
Departing from immediate coast influences and approaching the 
interior, with its greater heat and aridity, the greater elevation be- 
comes desirable. The apple, excepting the very early varieties, does 
not relish the forcing heat which brings such perfection to the 
peach, but to insure late ripening and long keeping, with accom- 
panying crispness, juiciness, and flavor, it must have atmospheric 
surroundings which favor slower development. 

Localities for apple growing in southern California are to be 
chosen with much the same rules as in the upper parts of the 
State. As has already been said, valleys in which coast conditions 
largely predominate produce good apples, on suitable soils, but 
away from the coast, proper elevations must be sought, and they 
should be above the so-called thermal or frostless belts. Good apples 
are grown on low lands near the coast in Los Angeles and Orange 
Counties. Sixty miles inland, in San Bernardino County, winter 
apples fail in the valleys, but are most excellent at a sufficient ele- 
vation upon the slopes of the surrounding mountains or in elevated 
valleys like the Yucaipe Valley above Redlands, where a Rome 
Beauty of excellent quality was grown in 1903 to a weight of twen- 
ty-seven ounces and a circumference of fifteen inches. In the ele- 
vated interior of San Diego County, as in the Julian and Smith 
Mountain districts, excellent apples are produced in large quantities 
and profitably carried long distances. 

Second and Third-Crop Apples. — There is a peculiar behavior 
of the apple tree, most noticeable when winter temperature is mild- 
est, and that is blooming and fruiting out of season. In the case 
of early apples the second bloom may appear about the time the 
first fruit ripens and the third bloom when the second crop is half 
grown. Even such behavior may be followed by regular blooming 
the following spring. Second crops of apples are not of amount 
nor regularity enough to be of much economic importance, as the 
second crop of pears and grapes sometimes are. The third crop 
occasionally ripens. An instance is on record at Chino, San Bar- 



226 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

nardino County, where in 1903 a tree 'ripened its first crop in June, 
and its last fruit was picked on Christmas day following. Such 
behavior, of course, indicates conditions ill suited to the apple. 

Exposures for the Apple. — The choice of exposure for an apple 
orchard may almost be inferred from what has been said about locali- 
ties. In regions with high summer temperature the apple will do best 
on cool, northerly slopes, and this exposure becomes doubly desirable 
when the location has high temperature with only moderate annual 
rainfall, or where the soil is not well adapted to the retention of mois- 
ture. With such prevailing conditions, the apple will be grateful for 
the cooler air and the greater moisture of the northerly slope. Where 
the temperature is moderately cool, and the rainfall adequate, the mat- 
ter of exposure is of less account, and the grower can make the exist- 
ence of the best soil the test of location of his orchard. At elevations 
on the sides of high ranges where late cold storms are liable to rush 
dow^n from higher snow fields, protection from the usual course of 
such storms, or from the course of cold winds generally, must be 
sought ; and directly up the coast, especially in the northern part of 
the State, in certain places where the peach does not usually succeed 
even the apple needs protection, and the benefit of all heat available, and 
then a southerly or southeasterly exposure becomes desirable. The 
choice of exposure is thus seen to be largely a local question and to be 
determined by a knowledge of local conditions. A newcomer in a re- 
gion can best learn these conditions by conference with older residents, 
or by personal observation of older orchards. 

Soils for the Apple, — Experience with the apple in California 
confirms what has long been set forth as its choice of soils in older 
regions. If one avoids an extremely light, sandy soil on the one hand, 
and a very stiflf clay or adobe on the other, he may plant apples on al- 
most any soil which allows extension of the roots to a considerable 
depth without reaching standing water. The apple thrives in a moist 
soil, but it must be well drained, naturally or otherwise. A soil which 
may be called best for the apple is a deep. rich, moist, calcareous loam, 
but the tree will thrive on coarser materials. The subsoil, whatever 
its nature, must be sound and open to the passage of moisture. The 
most unfavorable condition for the tree is a subsoil of clay which holds 
water. There is some difiference in varieties as to choice of soil. The 
Yellow Bellflower, for instance, will do well on a lighter soil than the 
Yellow Newtown Pippin. 

PROPAGATION OF THE APPLE 

The apple is chiefly propagated by root-grafting upon apple seed- 
ling roots either whole roots or root pieces. Budding is also practised 
to a certain extent. For dwarf trees the Paradise stock is used. Re- 
peated trials with working the apple on the pear, chiefly by top graft- 
ing, have secured growth of limited life but without fruiting. 



PRL'XIX('. THE APPr.F. 227 

The resistance of certain roots to the woolly aphis has been fully 
demonstrated by local experience in the use of the Northern Spy and 
Winter Majetin, chiefly the former. Seedlings of Northen Spy can 
not be relied upon as resistant to the woolly aphis. It is necessary to 
get a root actually grown from the Northern Spy wood. The best 
way to get a start is to buy some Northern Spy trees from some rep- 
utable nurseryman, specifying that they shall be Northern Spy root 
and top. With these resistant roots and wood growth for scions or 
cuttings can be grown. Resistant trees are made by root grafting the 
scion of the variety which it is desired to propagate upon a piece of 
Northern Spy root and then being careful that the scion does not send 
out roots of its own, but is wholly dependent upon the Northern Spy 
root. It is customary with nurserymen selling resistant trees to save 
the root pieces which are removed in digging and packing for subse- 
quent propagation. It is also possible to get a resistant tree by start- 
ing from the cutting of a Northern Spy. To facilitate the rooting of 
these cuttings a small piece of any kind of apple root is put in by side 
graft near the bottom of the cutting. This acts as a starter, but the 
cutting will also make roots of itself. At the end of the first year then 
the cuttings are taken up, the piece of root used as a starter is cleanly 
cut away and the rooted cutting replanted ; henceforth it is dependent 
upon its own roots and is resistant. The variety desired is then grafted 
in a little way above the ground surface so that there will be no danger 
of its making its own roots. By either of these processes it is more 
troublesome and takes more time to produce a tree with a resistant 
root than in the ordinary way. and for that reason trees on resistant 
roots are sold at a higher price. This may be the reason why resistant 
trees are not yet largely used in this State. 

Other suggestions applicable to the growth of young apple trees 
are given in Chapters \''III and IX. 



DISEASES AND PESTS OF THE APPLE 

The apple is subject to various diseases and insect enemies which 
must be resolutely fought or they will render the trees unprofitable. 
Chief of these diseases are the "pear blight" and the apple scab, and 
the apple mildew. Of the insect enemies the codlin moth, the apple- 
leaf aphis, the various leaf-cutting caterpillars and several scale insects 
must be kept in check and the latest approved means of reducing these 
troubles will be described in detail in later chapters. 



PLANTING AND CARE OF THE APPLE ORCHARD 

The chapters on planting, and pruning contain suggestions to 
which the reader is referred. Care should be taken to obtain trees 
with clean, healthy roots, not knotted and scarred hy woolly aphis. 




a 
a 

(0 

c 

3 

o 



228 



THIXNIXG THE APPLF. 22V) 

Distance in Planting. — The distance between the trees is of the 
highest importance. All the old apple orchards are overcrowded. 
More recently trees have been set at greater distances, and such plant- 
ing is now generally advised. There is some difference of opinion as to 
proper distance, but certainly twenty-tive to thirty feet is near enough, 
and some of the best new orchards have been planted at forty feet, 
the ground being used for a time with other crops or planted with early 
bearing trees, for which the soil is suited, between them. 

Pruning the Apple. — The maimer of shaping fruit trees described 
in the chapter on pruning succeeds admirably with the apple. Year- 
ling trees are usually planted. an<l they are regularly pruned until 
proper form is secured. 

Mr. C H. Rodgers. a leading apple grower of the W'atsonville dis- 
trict, near the coast in central California, gives the following excellent 
outline of a simple and economical, yet successful, method for ajjple tree 
building under ordinary conditions : 

First Year : On planting cut the stem from 30 to 36 inches in 
height, with the terminal bud toward the southwest. Tn the spring, 
when growth begins, strip off all shoots from the ground up to about 
20 inches. .Miove this point let all growth remain during the summer. 
If for any cause during early summer a bud does not start where 
wanted, a short transverse cut through the bark just above the bud 
will cause it to develop into a limb. 

beginning of Second Year : Cut off all limbs except those selected 
to remain permanently. Two, three, f(3ur, and not more than five 
limbs should be allowed to remain, the number depending on their po- 
sition. It should be the aim to distribute them evenly on all sides, and 
to give all possible space between limbs up and down the trunk. This 
latter precaution is to give room for expansion of limbs in after years. 
Cut back the limbs that are to remain, taking off from one-third to one- 
half of the previous season's growth. If the tree is of a spreading 
habit, and it is desired to have i,; grow erect, cut to inner buds. If de- 
sired to spread the top cut to outer buds. 

Beginning of Third Year: Allow two or three lateral limbs to 
remain on each of the main branches. Top the tree again, taking off 
from one-third to one-half the previous year's growth. Continue this 
method during the first four years, at which time the tree should 
begin to bear, and if surrounding conditions are favorable, it will prove 
strong, vigorous and capable of sustaining a heavy load of apples. 
The after treatment will consist mainly in keeping the top properly 
thinned. 

After coming into bearing there must be intelligent pruning accord- 
ing to the growth-habit of the variety. Some varieties, like the Yellow 
Bellflower, resent heavy pruning after coming into bearing, and slow 
growers like the Yellow Newtown Pippin, do not need it. On the 
other hand varieties, like the Winesap and Smith's Cider, are apt to 



230 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

make long slim branches and bear at the ends. This can be corrected 
by cutting back to secure more short shoots which will bear better 
fruit. Some varieties, like the Jonathan, will make plenty of short 
spurs under this treatment while others like Rome Beauty and Rhode 
Island Greening are persistent tip-bearers, but can be gradually drawn 
in without reducing the crop too much. The grower must study his 
varieties not only with reference to this but in forming the tree, cutting 
to an inside bud all varieties which naturally take a horizontal direction, 
and cutting to an outside bud varieties which have a tendency to send 
up tall, straight shoots. By thus throwing the new growth upward 
in the first case, and outward in the second, one can shape each kind 
to greater symmetry and strength for fruit carrying, and bring up all 
spreading varieties to a form which admits near approach of the plow 
and cultivator. This manner of shaping the tree must continue as long 
as seems necessary to secure a tree which will come to bearing age 
shapely and strong, and within reach. 

Bearing trees should not be allowed to carry too many branches, 
and pruning will largely consist of thinning out surplus shoots and 
removing interference between branches. It is not desirable to shorten- 
in the apple as is done with the apricot and peach. 

Summer pruning to reduce wood growth and promote bearing is 
practised to a limited extent in some districts upon varieties inclined to 
shy bearing. In regions of the most intense summer heat, less pruning 
is admissible than in the coast and elevated regions. It is necessary 
that the foliage be dense to protect the tree and the fruit from sunburn. 
Nor does the tree seem to relish cutting back. Slight thinning out if 
the tree becomes too brushy, seems to be the be.st treatment in some of 
the hot valleys. 

Thinning the Fruit. — One of the most important items in the 
handling of an apple orchard is the faithful thinning out of the 
fruit of all varieties which are prone to over-bear, and this work is 
now regularly provided for by the leading commercial growers. 
Only one apple should grow at a place and spacing of four to six 
inches is commended. Although this work is tedious and expensive, 
it is profitable, because of the improved price which can be had for 
the larger fruit which will be secured, and it is desirable in the 
effects of thinning on the tree. It will be relieved from the exhaus- 
tion of overbearing, induced to yield annual crops, and often saved 
from breaking down with a too heavy burden. 

Cultivation and Irrigation. — All that has been urged in measures 
to secure adequate moisture supply has full force with the apple. 
Excepting the early varieties, it is a fruit with a long growing sea- 
son and therefore requires continuous moisture to secure size and 
quality. Most California apples are grown on deep, retentive soils 
in regions of large rainfall and if this is conserved by thorough 



ST()R1-:H()USKS FOR Al'l'LES 231 

cultivation, good fruit can l)e secured. It is tloublless true that 
apples in even such places in California would sometimes be im- 
proved by irrigation just as they are in interior and mountain dis- 
tricts. 

Fertilizers have been thus far but little used in California apple 
orchards but they are manifestly needed. 

There has arisen recently evidence of the unfinished character 
of the fruit in some districts because it has shown blemishes after 
picking and during shipment which can not be attributed to any 
parasitic encroachment. This is probably due to some unfavorable 
condition in the local climate or to some other stress upon the tree 
which prevents it from doing perfect work. 



GATIlh:Rl.\(; .\.\D STORING .\PPLES 

The disposition in this State, as elsewhere, is to allow the fruit 
to hang too long upon the tree before gathering. It was long ago 
demonstrated that an apple for long-keeping must be picked a little 
in advance of full maturity. As late fall weather in California is so 
delightful, there is more temptation to delay the picking than where 
the approach of winter admonishes the grower to get his fruit un- 
der cover. Picking apples for shipment should be done just when 
the seeds begin to blacken and when the fruit yields to pressure. 
If left on until fully ripe, and the seeds all black, the fruit is apt 
not to keep well. This rule applies to fall apples for shipment to 
distant markets, or for apples to be stored at home. 

Mr. H. G. Keesling of Edenvale, Santa Clara County, gives a 
sketch of his way of handling apples on a small scale: In ])icking 
apples we insist on just as careful handling as in picking other 
fruits, and we find that the picking pail made of tin or light gal- 
vanized iron, holding about twelve cpiarts, or nearly twenty pounds 
of apples, is the best vessel to pick in, and we use them right 
through the season for cherries, apricots, peaches and even prunes. 
A pail of this size is not too heavy to handle even on high ladders, 
and it carries the fruit without bruising. Our plan is to pick and 
sort into boxes in the orchard. If a number of pickers are at work 
then one or more men will do the sorting. As each picker fills his 
pail, he carries it a short distance to the sorting station, taking an 
empty one and returning to his work. The apples are sorted out 
of the pails and very carefully examined. The perfect apples go 
into one box, seconds into another and culls into another. They 
are then loaded onto a truck or wagon with springs and hauled to 
the house. A good sorter will keep pails empty for several pickers, 
all of course depending on the crop, size of apples, etc. I put my 
winter apples in redwood boxes, which, when piled one on top of 



232 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

another, five or six high and close together and covered with can- 
vas or muslin, are in a condition to keep their flavor and juiciness 
a long time. Storing apples in boxes saves a lot of work in handling 
if they are to be examined or sorted during the winter. 

Nearly all the ways of keeping winter apples have been tried 
in California. The main difificulty in keeping apples in good con- 
dition during the dry months of the autumn is the loss of moisture 
from the fruit by evaporation. This causes shriveling and operates 
against long keeping. It has been found by experience that apples 
keep perfectly until late in the spring by piling under the trees and 
covering with leaves, etc., allowing the rains to fall upon them. 
When dry north winds blow, the fruit should be sprinkled occa- 
sionally. They come out from the cover fresh, smooth, and plump, 
and for family use such rough storage will often answer a good 
purpose. For commercial storage, even on a small scale, however, 
good fruithouses are used. The requisites of such houses are an 
evenly cool temperature, moist air, and good ventilation, the fruit 
being open to free access of the air. In the mountains where stone 
is abundant excellent apple houses are made of it, which resist 
temperature changes notably. 

Mr. Edward Berwick, of Monterey, apple grower of experience 
in the coast region, handles his fruit in this way: 

The apples are carefully handpicked into baskets and at once transferred to 
ordinary apple boxes — just put in loose, not packed tight as for shipping. These 
boxes are hauled to the fruit house with as little jar as possible. 

This fruit house is built of rough boards (fastened on a heavy frame) with 
inch-thick battens covering the cracks, and rustic-nailed outside the battens, thus 
leaving an inch air-space between the boards and the rustic. It is of two stories 
— the upper devoted to tools and stores, the lower used for fruit, and arranged 
with shelves accordingly. This lower story has only an earthen floor. One 
object of this is to give no lodgment for rats or mice, the other is to serve as a 
means of maintaining a cool, damp atmosphere. To this end it is kept well 
watered in apple-keeping season ; and, to avoid mildew or mold, it is also liberally 
sprinkled with ground sulphur. By day, doors and windows are mostly kept shut, 
by night open ; this, of course, is to exclude the heat and allow free circulation of 
the cool night air. 

A rather more open house is used in the coast region of south- 
ern California, by Mr. T. W. Ward, of Carpinteria : 

It is a slat house made of strips 1 x 2^4 inches, put on one inch apart. The 
roof is similarly constructed. There are two passages, on either side of which 
are two shelves, one above the other, i. c, eight in all. The shelves are made of 
slats placed one-half inch apart, with sides a foot high. The apples are spread 
on these shelves a foot or more deep. The floor is made of slats, and there are 
bins on this also. The fruit must receiye a thorough sprinkling weekly, unless 
sufficient rain falls. The slats are close enough to prevent birds doing damage, 
and the whole building is raised six inches from the ground. 

In the mountain regions arrangements must be made for frost 
exclusion — a consideration which does not apply to the valley and 
coast. 



APPLES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES 233 



PICKING AND PACKING APPLES ON A LARGE SCALE 

Mr. C. H. Rodgers, a leading grower, and president of the Santa 
Cruz County horticultural commission, gives the best methods in 
his district as follows : 

In the matter of picking, experience has evolved a number of rules which 
should be strictly adhered to: 

(1) Do not pull the apple off the tree. By so doing, the stem may be 
detached from the apple, thus making a second grade of what otherwise would 
be choice. 

The proper method of plucking the apple is to grasp it with the full hand, 
not with the fingers only, and by a gentle twist and lateral movement detach it 
with the stem attached. Especially must finger pressure be avoided in the 
picking, as bruises thereby produced injure the value. 

(2) The apple must never be dropped into a receptacle or from box to box, 
but should be transferred as carefully as so many eggs. 

(3) Under all circumstances use vehicles having springs^ in moving the fruit. 
On'-.e within the packing-house the more perishable varieties should be handled 

immediately and forwarded to market, while the long-keeping varieties, espe- 
cially those intended for export, should be held at least a month before sorting 
and packing. This latter precaution enables the packer to discover and eliminate 
all diseased and defective fruit— a thing that would be impossible if the fruit 
were packed at an early date after picking. 

Three grades or qualities are recognized in the "trade"— first, second and 
third. First grade includes only perfect fruit. Second grade includes the fruit 
having a trivial surface blemish or stem absent. The third or cull class includes 
all wormy, badly bruised or skin-broken apples. 

Though grading for size varies somewhat in different localities, in the Wat- 
sonville district, the leading apple producing center of the West, there are but 
three sizes recognized. These are 3j/^, 4, and AYi tier. Theunit of size is the 
4-tier, which comprises all apples rutming from 2Y^ to 3^ inches in diameter, 
and derives the name from the fact that when packed in the box there are four 
rows of four apples each, both vertically and horizontally across the end of the 
box. Apples in excess of 3^4 inches are classed as 3^-tier size. The third size, 
or 4H-tier, includes those apples ranging between 2^4 and 2-5^ inches in diameter. 
Both the 3^-tier and 4j^-tier are packed in the manner known as "diamond" 
pack or "pear" pack. Apples smaller than 4j/^-tier are thrown into the cull pile. 
The sorter ascertains the size by passing the apples through circular holes in a 
board. 

In this State the standard box is made of pine. Its measurements are 9^ by 
11 by 22 inches, and it holds about 50 pounds of fruit. A modified box of extra 
thick material, reinforced by iron straps, is frequently used for export trade. 
Redwood boxes are used only for cheap grades of apples packed for the local 
market. 

After being sorted, the apples are passed to the packer, who, before placing 
them in the box, wraps each apple in a piece of paper prepared for the purpose. 

The apples must be so packed in the box as to permit the nailing firmly of 
the lid at each end, and at the same time allow a gradual swell of about three- 
fourths of an inch at the middle of both top and bottom. On account of the 
resultant shape of the boxes, they can be stacked up with safety only on their 
sides. 

The packed boxes after being neatly labeled, are next transferred to the cars 
and stacked four or five tiers high. An air space of three or four feet is left 
between the top tier and the roof of the car, also the entire space between the 
doors is left vacant for the better circulation of air. The boxes, after being 
systematically placed in the car, are so braced with timbers as to prevent any 
movement. The usual carload consists of about 650 boxes. Refrigerator fruit 
cars are employed mainly for apple shipment, but no ice is used. 



234 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Summer and Fall Apples. — In some regions noted for early 
maturing of fruit, it is profitable to grow early apples, providing 
there are facilities for reaching profitable avenues of trade. Except 
to minister to some special local or distant trade which can be thus 
foreseen, it must be said that very early apples are hardly worth 
the attention of the commercial planter. These sorts are apt to 
come into direct contest with the magnificent peaches, grapes, and 
other summer and autumn fruits, and sufifer thereby. 

On the other hand the fall apples, chiefly the Yellow Bellflower 
and Gravenstein, are so good and profitable in regions where they 
bear well that they are among the varieties which constitute our 
chief commercial reliance. 

Winter Apples. — For large ventures in apple growing, in local- 
ities carefully chosen for especial adaptations, a few of the finest 
varieties of winter apples should generally be selected. It is the 
judgment of the most experienced apple growers, man}^ of whom 
have old orchards including many varieties, that new plantations 
of winter apples should contain only about six sorts. Of these, 
in all parts of the State, two would be the Yellow Newtown Pippin 
and White Winter Pearmain ; the other four would vary in differ- 
ent parts of the State, as can be learned from the table which will 
follow. 

Apples for Long Shipment. — There has been for years quite an 
important trade in shipment of California apples to various ports 
in the South Pacific Ocean, and recently there has been a sharp 
demand for California apples for shipment to the eastern states and 
England. The characteristic size, quality and keeping of the fruit, 
together with the size and style of package, have strongly com- 
mended the fruit. The center of this trade is Watsonville, in a coast 
valley, in the central part of the State. The two apples which are 
most popular are the Yellow Bellflower and the Yellow Newtown 
Pippin. It is an interesting fact that these varieties by virtue of 
quality have overcome the popular fervor for a red apple. 

For the Interior Valleys. — In choosing varieties for the hot val- 
leys of the State those making a heavy leaf growth are to be pre- 
ferred. The Spitzenberg, for example, is a failure in the valleys 
of the interior, though satisfactory at points on the valley borders. 
From experience already had it seems likely that some of the Rus- 
sian varieties, with thick, large leaves, will prove best for such sit- 
uations. The behavior of the Astracans, the Duchess of Olden- 
burg, and others of Russian origin, are illustrations of this fact. 
Other varieties have been on trial for several years, but no great 
distril)ution of them has vet been attained. 



VARIETIES OF APPLES ' 235 

SELECTION OF VARIETIES FOR CROSS-POLLINATION 

Selection of varieties of the same blooming' season to secure 
whatever advantage there may be in cross-pollination to promote 
bearing arises chiefly with reference to \Miite Winter Pearmain, 
which is sometimes very shy when grown alone. Association can 
be arranged with a number of our most popular varieties by con- 
sulting the following dates of blooming as prepared by Mr. Fred- 
erick Maskew based upon observations in the coast region of Los 
Angeles County. 

Blooming Season of Our Most Popular Varieties. 

\'arieties. Pirst bloom. 

White Winter Pearmain April 11 

Red Astracan April 17 

Bellflowcr April 

Fall Pippin April 20 

Rhode Island Greening April 20 

Kentucky Red Streak April 20 

Earlv Harvest April 21 

Shockli' April 27 

Fameuse April 27 

Ben Davis April 29 

Winesap May 5 

Yellow Transparent May 5 

None-such May 7 

Missouri Pippin May 10 

Alexander May 15 

Smiths Cider May 15 

Transcendent Crab Mar. 30 

Hyslop Crab April 1 1 

Montreal Crab April 16 

This is a later range of bloom than will be found in many parts 
of the State, but the same relation may be expected everywhere. 



VARIETIES OF APPLES CHIEFLY GROWN IN 
CALIFORNIA 

Of the hundreds of varieties tested in California comparatively 
few are now grown, as has already been suggested. Those named 
below have been reported by growers as succeeding in localities 
named with the description, or indicated in the table which will 
follow. The descriptions of the standard sorts are, in the main, 
condensed from Downing,* with local notes interpolated when 
thought necessary. The arrangement is, approximately in the 
order of ripening. 

Carolina Red June (Southern). — Medium size oval, irregular, inclined to 
conic; deep red covered with light bloom; stalk in small cavity; calyx closed; 
flesh white, tender, juicy, subacid; core rather large. 

* "Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees of America," John Wiley & Sons, New York. 





General 




Full bloom. 


fall of bloom. 


April 27 


May 


5 


April 30 


May 


12 


April 30 


May 


16 


May 5 


May 


15 


May 5 


May 


15 


May 10 


May 


20 


May 6 


May 


12 


Mav 15 


May 


20 


Mav 15 


May 


22 


May 15 


May 


23 


May 17 


June 




May 16 


June 




May 16 


June 




May 20 


June 




May 25 


June 




May 25 


June 


6 


April 7 


April 22 


April 22 


April 


30 


April 24 


May 


7 









236 



VARIETIliS OF APPLES 237 

Eqrly Harvest (American). — Medium size, roundish; straw color with few 
faint white dots ; stalk half to three-fourths inch, slender, set in moderate cavity ; 
calyx in shallow basin; flesh very white, tender, crisp, pleasant. 

Early Strawberry (New York). — Medium size, roundish, narrowing toward 
the eye; skin smooth, deep red on yellow ground; stalk one and a half inches, 
rather slender and uneven, in deep cavity; calyx small, in shallow basin; flesh 
white, tinged with red next to the skin, tender, subacid, sprightly. 

Red Astracan (Russian). — Large roundish; skin deep red, save greenish 
yellow in the shade; pale white bloom; stalk short, and deeply inserted; calyx 
partially closed and set in slight basin; flesh white, juicy and crisp, pleasant acid; 
tree hardy and vigorous, and an early bearer. The main reliance in California 
for an early apple. 

White Astracan (Russian). — Large, roundish; skin smooth and nearly white, 
with faint streaks of red, and covered with white bloom; flesh white. Consider- 
ably grown in the Sacramento Valley and foothills for early shipment. Some- 
times attains a weight of 29 ounces. Excellent in the Modesto district of the San 
Joaquin Valley. 

Duchess of Oldenburg (Russian). — Large, roundish, oblate; yellow, streaked 
with red; calyx large, nearly closed, set in wide, even hollow; flesh juicy, subacid. 

Gravenstein (German). — Large, rather flattened; a little one-sided or angular; 
broadest at base; stalk short, strong, deeply set; calyx large, closed, in a large 
basin ; skin yellow, freely marked with light and deep red and orange ; flesh ten- 
der, crisp, highly flavored, aromatic; a strong-growing and heavily-bearing tree; 
a standard fall apple in this State. 

Red Bietigheimer (German). — Large to very large, oblate, slightly conical,- 
regular; smooth, whitish or yellowish white, shaded with light and dark red, and 
purplish crimson in the sun; stalk short, rather stout; calyx closed in large, deep, 
slightly corrugated basin; flesh white, lirm, juicy, brisk subacid. 

Maiden's Blush (New Jersey). — Rather large, smooth, regular; yellow, with 
evenly shaded red cheek; stalk short, in rather wide, deep hollow; calyx closed in 
moderate depression ; flesh white, tender, sprightly. 

Fall Pippin. — Very large, roundish, a little flattened; stalk three-fourths inch, 
projecting considerably beyond the fruit (which distinguishes it from the Holland 
Pippin) ; calyx open, not very large, rather deeply sunk in round, narrow basin; 
skin smooth, yellowish green, becoming pure yellow ; brownish blush and few 
scattered dots; flesh white, tender, mellow, rich, aromatic. 

Alexander (Russian). — Very large, showy, conical, greenish yellow, streaked 
with red in shade, bright red in sun ; calyx large, in deep basin ; stalk slender, 
long, in deep cavity; flesh yellowish white, crisp, tender, and juicy. Tree vigor- 
ous, but not always a good bearer. 

Gloria Mundi. — Very large, roundish, oblate ; ribbed ; greenish yellow. A 
popular show apple on account of great size attained in this State. (See table). 

Faineuse; syn. Snow Apple (Canada). — Medium size, roundish, somewhat 
flattened ; deep crimson, nearly concealing pale yellowish ground ; flesh snowy 
white, tender, juicy, slight perfume ; stalk slender, one-half inch, in narrow funnel- 
shaped cavity; calyx small, in shallow, rather narrow basin; "tree vigorous, with 
dark wood; one of the finest dessert fruits; succeeds particularly well in the 
foothills." — John Bidwell. 

King of Tompkins County. — Large, globular, angular, inclining to conic; yel- 
lowish, mostly shaded with red, striped and splashed with crimson ; stalk short 
and stout, in large, somewhat irregular cavity ; calyx small, closed ; flesh yellow- 
ish, rich, juicy, vinous, aromatic; chiefly grown in mountain regions. 

Rambo (Pennsylvania). — Medium to large, flat; yellowish white with pale 
yellow and red in the sun, with large, rough dots ; stalk long, rather slender, 
curved, deeply set; calyx closed, in broad basin; flesh greenish white. Reported 
a failure in some counties. 



238 CAl.ll-OKNlA KRriTS: HOW TO fiROW Tllli^r 

Ben Dai'is. — Large, rouiidisli, sides often unequal ; light red and deep red on 
yellowish ground ; stalk medium, rather slender, in deep, narrow cavity ; calyx 
partially open. Commended as a market apple by the Southern California 
Nurserymen's Association. Grown in the upper Sacramento Valley ; sometimes 
keeps until July 1. 

Baldii'in (Massachusetts). — Large, roundish, narrowing a little toward the 
eye ; deep bright red over a yellow ground ; few russet dots ; calyx closed and set 
in narrow basin ; stalk one-half to three-fourths inch, rather slender, set in deep, 
even cavity; tlesh yellowish-white, crisp, juicy, subacid. Best in northern and 
elevated regions ; coloring varies greatly according to locality. 

Hoover (South Carolina). — Large, roundish, slightly oblique; yellowish, 
mostly overspread with red, with conspicuous light dots ; stalk rather long, in 
large cavity; calyx open in furrowed basin; flesh yellowish, juicy, crisp, acid. 

Rhode Island Greening. — Large, roundish, a little flattened, pretty regular ; 
dark green, becoming yellowish green ; calyx small, woolly, closed, in shallow 
basin ; stalk three-fourths inch, curved, thickest at the bottom ; flesh yellow, flne 
grained, tender, crisp, juicy, aromatic, slightly acid; tree healthy and the variety 
widely popular. 

Vandevere ; syn. Nezvton Spitzenburg. — Medium size, oblate, slightly conic; 
fine yellow, washed with light red, striped and splashed with dark red and shaded 
with carmine in the sun ; light bloom and peculiar gray specks ; stalk short, in 
wide cavity ; calyx small, closed ; flesh yellow, rich, sprightly, vinous. 

Jonathan (New York). — Medium to large, roundish, conical or tapering to 
the eye ; light yellow nearly covered with red stripes and deep red in the sun ; 
stalk three-fourths of an inch, rather slender, in deep, regular cavity ; calyx in 
deep, broad basin; tender, juicy, rich, vinous; a great favorite in California; 
specially commended as a market apple by Southern California Nurserymen's 
Association ; keeps till midwinter. 

Winesap. — Medium size, roundish oblong ; dark red with traces of yellow in 
the shade ; stalk nearly an inch, slender, set in an irregular cavity ; calyx small, in 
regular basin ; flesh yellow, crisp, high, rich flavor ; largely grown ; tree a good 
bearer. 

Staynian Winesap. — An old improvement on the Winesap now becoming more 
prominent. Some growers reporting favorably on Winesap have this variety, 
which is larger and better, and the tree a stronger grower and more productive. 
Approved by Mr. Frank Femmons, of Madera county. 

Ortley; syn. White Bellfloiver, etc. (New Jersey). — Large, oblong, greenish 
yellow, becoming fine yellow with slight blush ; stalk medium, slender, set in deep, 
acute cavity ; calyx closed, set in abrupt corrugated basin ; flesh white, fine- 
grained, juicy, subacid. 

Swaar (New York). — Large, roundish; golden yellow with numerous brown 
specks ; stalk slender, three-fourths inch, in very round cavity ; calyx small, 
greenish, set in shallow basin ; flesh yellowish, fine-grained ; very rich, aromatic 
flavor and spicy smell. 

Laiiwer. — Large, roundish, oblate, dark red, covered with small dots ; stalk 
medium, cavity deep, regular ; calyx small, closed, in medium furrowed basin ; 
flesh white, sprightly, aromatic ; a promising, late keeping variety. 

Velloiv Bellflozuer (New Jersey). — Very large, oblong, irregular, tapering 
toward the eye ; smooth ; lemon color, with blush ; stalk long and slender, in deep 
cavity; calyx closed, in rather narrow basin; flesh tender, juicy, crisp, with 
sprightly subacid flavor ; keeps well into the winter ; tree a strong grower and 
healthy; one of the universal favorites in California. 

Romanite. — Small to medium, roundish, conical, truncated; yellow, mostly 
covered with clear, handsome red; indistinct light dots; stalk slender; calyx in 
an abrupt basin; flesh yellowish, fine-grained, juicy, pleasant, -subacid. 

Esopus Spitzenburg (New York). — Large, oblong, tapering roundly to the 
eye ; smooth, nearly covered with rich, lively red, dotted with distinct yellowish 



CALIFORNIA SEEDLINC. APPLES 239 

russet clots; on sliaded siilc, \ello\visli grt)uiid witli streaks and broken stripes of 
red; stalk rather long, three-fourths inch, slender, projecting bejond the base 
and inserted in wide cavity ; calyx small and closed, in shallow basin ; flesh yellow, 
rather firm, crisp, juicy, with a delicious rich, brisk flavor. A largely grown 
variety ; tree a good, upright grower and healthy ; fruit keeps fairly. 

Hyde King. — Very large, glistening golden yellow with blush, very handsome. 
Ripens October 15th in Humboldt county. Approved by A. F. Etter. 

Smith's Cider (Pennsylvania). — Large, roundish, oblate conic; yellow, shaded 
and striped with red, sparsely covered with gray dots ; stalk slender, in deep, 
rather narrow cavity; calyx closed, in broad, shallow basin; flesh whitish, juicy, 
crisp, acid ; tree a strong grower, and fruit keeps till midwinter. 

Rome Beauty (Ohio). — Large, roundish, approaching conic; yellow, shaded 
and striped with bright red, sprinkled with light dots ; stalk one inch, in large, 
deep cavity; calyx partially closed, in deep, narrow basin; flesh yellowish, juicy, 
sprightly ; fruit keeps late. Particularly fine in the mountain valleys of South- 
ern California. 

Missouri Pippin (Missouri). — Large, roundish oblate, slightly oblijquc, some- 
what flattened at the ends ; shaded, striped and splashed with light and dark red, 
often quite dark in the sun ; many large and small gray dots ; stalk short, small ; 
cavity large, deep; calyx closed or half open, basin rather abrupt deep, slightly 
corrugated; flesh whitish, rather coarse, moderately juicy, subacid. Quite largely 
planted, but losing favor for lack of keeping quality in coast valleys. 

Nickajack (North Carolina). — Large, roundish to roundish oblate, slightly 
conic,- sometimes oblique; yellowish, freely striped and splashed with red, many 
large dots ; stalk short, in large cavity ; calyx partly open ; flesh yellowish, fair 
quality; reported a shy bearer in high altitudes. 

Northern Spy (New York). — Large, roundish, oblate conical; pale yellow, 
purplish red stripes in the sun ; stalk three-fourths inch, slender, in wide, deep 
cavity; calyx small, closed; flesh white, mild, pleasant; highly esteemed in a few 
localities, but abandoned in others for shy bearing. 

White Winter Pearmain. — Large, rovuidish oblong conic, somewhat oblique; 
pale yellow with sliglit blush, many minute brown dots ; stalk short in deep 
cavity; caly.x nearly closed; flesh yellowish, tender, crisp, juicy, very pleasant 
subacid, extra high flavor ; grown everywhere, and fruit keeps late ; tree a strong 
grower and healthy. 

Lady (French). — Small, regularly formed, flat; smooth and glossy, with bril- 
liant red cheek contrasting with lemon yellow ground; flesh white, crisp, juicy 
and pleasant ; chiefly used for ornamental purposes. 

Black Ben Davis. — Resembles Ben Davis in tree and fruit, except that the 
latter is deeper colored, more symmetrical and of better quality. Highly praised 
by Mr. Frank Femmons, Madera county. 

Delicious. — Resembling Bellflower ; yellow, almost covered with dark red ; 
very mild acid, quality good ; a late keeper. Also approved by Mr. Femmons. 

Arkansas Beauty (Arkansas). — Medium to large, oblong conical, yellow and 
red stripes; fine, juicy, very good, subacid. Approved in Southern California. 

Razi'les Janet (Virginia). — Medium to large, oblate conic, yellowish, shaded 
with red and striped with crimson ; stalk short and thick, in broad, open cavity ; 
calyx partially open, in shallow basin; flesh yellow, tender, juicy, pleasant vinous 
flavor ; tree healthy and proHfic. 

Stark. — Large, roundish, inclined to conic ; sometimes elongated, sometimes 
oblique ; greenish yellow, nearly covered with dark red and sprinkled with light 
and brown dots ; stalk short, rather stout ; calyx closed ; flesh yellowish. 

Yellow Newtozvn Pippin. — Large, roundish, oblate and oblique, more or less 
flattened yellow with brownish red cheek ; stalk very short ; flesh firm, crisp, 
juicy, and with very rich, high flavor. Generally considered the best winter apple 
in California. 



240 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

CRAB APPLES 

Hyslop. — Fruit large, growing in clusters; roundish ovate; dark rich red, 
covered with thick blue bloom; stalk long, slender; calyx closed; flesh yellowish. 

Large Red Siberian. — Roundish ovate with large and prominent calyx; pale 
red and yellow skin. 

Large Yellow Siberian. — Fruit similar in size to foregoing, roundish oval, 
flattened at base and crown; light clear yellow, inclining to amber, with warm 
cheek. 

Transcendant. — Medium to large, roundish oval, flattened at the ends, slightly 
but regularly ribbed; golden j^ellow, with rich, crimson cheek, or nearly covered 
with red; delicate white bloom; stalk long and slender, in open, deep cavity; 
calyx closed ; flesh creamy yellow. 

Montreal Beauty. — Large, roundish, oblate ; bright yellow, mostly covered and 
shaded with red ; one of the most beautiful of crab apples. 

Whitney's Crab. — Large, handsome, greenish yellow, striped with crimson. 

CALIFORNIA SEEDLING APPLES 

• Skinner's Seedling (name approved by California State Horticultural Society, 
November, 1887) ; syn. Skinnc/s Pippin, Santa Clara King. — Originated with 
Judge H. C. Skinner, of San Jose. Fruit large to very large ; form oblate, conic, 
slightly mixed ; color rich lemon yellow, faintly striped with bright red ; flesh 
yellowish white, verv tender, juicy, sprightly, mild subacid; quality best. Season, 
September and October. 

Marshall's Red (name approved by California State Horticultural Society, 
November, 1887) ; syn. Red BcUflozver, Marshall's Seedling. — Originated with J. 
L. Marshall, Brown's Valley, near Napa. Fruited first about 1877; introduced by 
Leonard Coates in 1884. The tree resembles Red Jnue in habit of growth ; fruit 
large, same shape as Yellow Bellflovver, but of same color as Red June ; quality 
very good; flesh firm and fine grained; aromatic, and slightly more acid than the 
Yellow Bellflower; tree, a very heavy bearer, and the fruit ripens in October in 
the bay region. 

Magoon. — Large, roundish oblong, deep red shading to light red on yellow 
ground, resembling Esopus Spitzenburg in form, flesh and flavor. Found in 1893 
on place formerly occupied by S. E. Magoon, near Ahwahnee. Named by Frank 
Femmons. 

Cook's Seedling; syn. Sonoma Seedling. — Brought to notice by O. B. Shaw, 
of Sonoma, as a seedling raised by David Cook from the seed of the Juneating. 
Above medium size, pale yellow striped with red ; sharp acid flavor. Not decid- 
edly rich, but flavor full and acceptable. Excellent keeping qualities. Chiefly 
grown in Sonoma and Napa counties. 

Lawton. — Seedling on place of Mrs. F. H. Lawton, one-half mile north of 
Sebastopol, Sonoma county. More symmetrical than Belmont or Waxen. Very 
promising show variety. 

Tabular Showing of Adaptations. — In preparation for this edi- 
tion the writer undertook special inquiry to secure information 
from growers as to what their choice would be if they were to plan* 
apples as explained in Chapter XVI. The result is a large shrinlf- 
age in the list of varieties which are now thought to be worth plann- 
ing in the different parts of the State. 

An attempt is made to district the State for the apple, and for 
the other fruits which follow, in accordance with the scheme of 
climatic conditions described in Chapter 1. This groups regions of 



CALIFORNIA SEEDLING APPLES 241 

nearest resemblance, and is more rational than any prescription 
according to county lines can be, for though some counties lie 
wholly in one climatic division, many more counties extend through 
two, and some even through three, such divisions. It is, therefore 
a more promising proposition to encourage planters in any locality 
to study their climatic adaptations, not with regard to county lines 
but rather as related to the conditions of elevation, exposure to 
ocean influences and other factors which characterize natural belts, 
or areas, of similar horticultural fitness. The only instances in 
which these agencies are grouped geographically, is in constituting 
southern California a division by itself. This is a recognition of 
the fact that though in southern California coast and interior differ- 
ences clearly exist, they are not so marked, until the development 
of the Colorado river region began, as they are in the upper portions 
of the State, and there is consequently less marked contrast in 
suitability to various fruits. This concession to the south as siii 
generis also escapes, or answers instead of a third division of coast 
valleys, for the older fruit districts of southern California have a 
mollified or subdued coast climate, their region of strictly interior 
valley and foothill climate being restricted by the fact that prac- 
tically almost all of their cultivated area, until recently, lay south 
west of their high mountains. It is an interesting fact that the 
California coast climates north and south show much greater 
contrasting conditions than do the interior valley regions, north and 
south, and southern California being so largely in the coast class 
could on this basis of wide coast variations claim a distinctive desig- 
nation, though it could hardly be granted on the comparison of in- 
terior valley characters throughout the State. Just what effect the 
development of fruii growing in the great interior valley of south- 
ern California which is irrigated from the Colorado river, will have 
upon the future re-classification of the horticultural divisions of the 
State can not now be determined for the planting of all kinds of 
fruit is but now beginning. 



242 



CALIFORNIA FRUnS: HOW TO GROW THE 



EM 



Apple Varieties Approved by California Growers. 



VARIETIEvS 

Alexander 

Arkansas Beautv 

Arkansas Black' . . . 


Northern 
Coast 
Region. 


Central 

Coast 

Region. 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 


Interior 
valleys 
and 
foothills. 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 
* 
* 

** 
* 
* 
* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 
** 

* 


Mountain 

valleys 

and 

plateau. 

*' 

** 

* 

* 

** 
* 

* 
* 
* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 


Southern 
California 

** 


Baldwin 

Ben Davis 


* 




Bietigheimer 

Black Ben Davis 


* 


* 


Cook's Seedling 

Delicious 

Early Harvest 






Early Strawberry 

Esopus Spitzenburg . . . 
Fall Pippin 


** 


* 
* 


Fameuse 

Gravenstein 

Gloria Mundi .... 


** 


* 
* 


Hoover 

Jonathan 

Langford . . 

Lawver 

Maiden's Blush . ... 


* 
* 


* 


Alarshall's Red 






Missouri Pippin 

Nickajack 

Northern Spy . . . 


* 


* 


Oldenburg Duchess .... 

Ortley 

Rawles's Janet .... 


* 

** 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
** 

* 
* 


* 

* 


Red Astracan 




Red June 




Red Pearmain 

Rhode Island Greening . 

Romanite 

Rome Beauty 

Smith's Cider . . . 


** 
* 

** 


Skinner's Seedling 

Stark ; ; ; ; 

Stayman Winesap 

Swaar , 

Tompkins King 

Vandevere 

Wagener 

Wealthy 

White Astracan 


* 

* 

* 

* 


White Winter Pearmain.. 

Williams's Favorite 

Winesap 

Winter Banana 


** 
** 


Yellow Bellflower 

Yellow Newton Pippin . . 

Yellow Transparent 

York Imperial 


** 







Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. 
Most highly commended. 




M3 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE APRICOT 

California has nearly three million r.pricot trees which stand in 
the open air without protection of any kind and bear large, luscious 
fruit. That apricot trees can do this constitutes one of the unique 
features of California fruit growing and proclaims it different from 
fruit growing in other States, for, excepting a few localities in other 
parts of the Pacific slope, California has a monopoly of commercial 
apricot growing, and nowhere else in the world does the fruit attain 
such commercial importance. Although the apricot has been grown 
here from the earliest days of the American occupation, and though 
since the opening of the export trade in canned and dried fruits, the 
apricot has gained in popularity, the planting of apricot orchards 
has not proceeded recently with great rapidity, although indications 
are that our distant patrons are only just beginning to recognize the 
desirability of the fruit, and their demands will make it well-nigh 
impossible for us to extend our production beyond profitable limits. 
The reason why the apricot has not kept pace with the advance of 
some other fruits in California is to be found in certain limitations 
of suitable area which will be mentioned presently. 

Though the apricot has some pests and diseases to contend with, 
they have thus far proved slight evils, and the tree is generally re- 
garded as one of our healthiest and most vigorous, as it certainly is 
one of our most beautiful orchard trees. It is long-lived and attains 
great size. There are here and there groups of trees nearly half a cen- 
tury old which have a height of fifty feet; the main trunks like for- 
est oaks, and the first branches or limbs twelve and fifteen inches 
through. The smaller limbs and foliage are at least fifty feet 
across ; a half dozen of them shade an acre of ground and they some- 
times yield per tree a ton of fruit. But such trees do not meet or- 
chard requirements and are only mentioned to show what the tree 
may do when it has its own way. 

The apricot is a rapid grower and an early and heavy bearer in 
California. In the interior and in the southern coast valleys it 
yields a paying crop during its third summer in the orchard, and 
from eight to fourteen tons to the acre was reached for several 
years in succession, in Judge Blackwood's old orchard of Royal 
apricots, in Alameda County. The trees, even of some varieties 
which are uncertain bearers, are large and vigorous growers, and 
have warranted the suggestion that there is a use for the apricot 
tree for a windbreak for the protection of other trees. The trees 
may be planted near together in strong land and make a windbreak 
that will pay its way without regard to such fruit as it may inci- 
dentally produce. 

244 



LOCATIONS FOR THE APRICOT 245 

Apricots are chiefly marketed as a dried fruit and the operation 
of drying will be described in the chapter devoted to such pro- 
cesses. The amount used in canning is, in a year of full production 
about one-quarter of that for drying, while the weight of fruit sold 
fresh to consumers, near and far, is about one-quarter of that used 
by the canners. The total product of apricots in 1905 was approxi- 
mately 175,000.000 pounds, fresh weight. 

LOCALITIES FOR THE APRICOT 

In discussing localities for the apricot, reference is. of course 
only made to its growth as a standard orchard tree without pro- 
tection of any kind. It shows even in California that it does not 
forget the conditions which destroy its thrift elsewhere, for late 
frosts in our upper coast counties render it, as a rule, unprofitable. 
Speaking broadly, the quarter of the State lying northward of the 
Bay of San Francisco and westward of the high ridge of the Coast 
Range is not suited for commercial apricot growing; though here 
and there are places where bearing may be regular and abundant 
enough to make trees satisfactory for home gardens. The moun- 
tain regions everywhere in the State above an elevation of about 
1200 feet are also to be excluded. The lowest lands of the great 
interior valleys, except here and there, where frosts are prevented 
by proximity of broad streams or by favoring air currents, are 
unsuited for apricots, and the bottoms of small valleys whence cold 
air can not find drainage outlet, are also treacherous. It is evident 
then, that even in regions of general adaptation to the fruit, local 
discrimination must be exercised in selecting lands for apricots, 
and the occurrence of spring frosts, which are usually governed 
by topography, must be guarded against. This is not the same 
problem, which arises in the selection of land for citrus fruits, be- 
cause apricots are not open to injury during December, January 
and February, and consequently they may be successfully grown 
in places where winter temperatures might injure the evergreen 
trees of the citrus family. Still, next to the almond, the apricot 
is most liable to frost injur}^ of all our deciduous tree fruits, and 
commercial success depends largely upon the selection of a proper 
place for them. The occurrence of even light frosts during the bloom- 
ing and setting, or soon after, may strip the tree of its burden of 
fruit without injury to even the softest tissues of twig and leaf; 
consequently, regular bearing of the apricot can not be expected 
where the temperature is apt to fall four or five degrees below 
freezing point during the months of March and April, even though 
the duration of such temperature may be very brief. For this rea- 
son the area of California which is well suited to apricot growing is 
limited when compared with the great area of the State, though 
when counted by acres it is ample enough to supply all the fresh 



246 CALIFORNIA FRUITS ! HOW TO GROW THEM 

canned, and dried apricots which the markets of the world can be ex- 
pected to take at profitable figures. 

It is often claimed that situations directly subject to ocean influ- 
ences are best for the apricot. It is noted by many observers that 
the apricot "points its best branches to the ocean, in the very teeth 
of the constant breeze, and the landward limbs and twigs bend up 
and endeavor to reach the same direction. This is patent in every 
tree, and in the long orchard rows is very striking." This is taken 
to signify the special liking of the tree for the vicinity of the coast. 
It is well enough to interpret it that way, providing one does not 
lose sight of the perfect success of the apricot in the interior as well. 
It is true that the fruit near the coast attains higher color, and the 
less rapid growth of the tree makes it somewhat easier to handle, 
but the earlier ripening in the interior, coupled with freedom from 
fog and constant sunshine for drying, are points of the highest in- 
dustrial importance. The fact is that the apricot has a very wide 
range in California, and though the trees have been cut out at some 
points it has been chiefly because too frosty locations have been 
chosen or because some other fruit has seemed to be locally more de- 
sirable, for one reason or another. 

In some valleys in the upper part of the State opening directly 
to the ocean, there is sometimes complaint of the cracking of the 
fruit on the sunny side. The alternation of svmshine and fog seems 
to have something to do with this, for in favorable years, when fogs 
are few, the fruit is sound. 

Locations for early ripening of the apricot are to be chosen 
with reference to the influence of topography, as laid down in Chap- 
ter I. In a general way, it may be said, in regions directly subject 
to coast influences. 1)oth in northern and southern California, the 
apricot is late On the west side of the Sacramento Valley, on 
slightly elevated places, in small, hill-locked valleys, the earliest 
apricots have been grown for 3^ears. Protected situations in the 
foothills of the Sierra Nevada, on the eastern rim of both the Sacra- 
mento and San Joaquin Valleys, share in the production of the 
earliest ripening fruit. There is probably about a month's difiference 
in the ripening of the same variety in the earliest interior situations 
and in the coast valle3^s of both northern and southern California. 

In the interior of southern California, in irrigated situations, on 
the west side of the Colorado River and in adjacent parts of Ari- 
zona, apricots rival in earliness the product of the famous valleys 
of interior northern California. 

Recently a measure of success with the apricot has been attained 
in irrigated sections of eastern Washington. Idaho and Utah. If 
winter temperatures are low enough to keep the tree dormant and 
yet not injure the fruit buds and frosts are absent after growth be- 
gins, success ought to be attainable. 



PLANTING THE APRICOT 247 

STOCKS AND SOILS FOR THE APRICOT 

Because of the success with which the apricot can be budded 
on various stocks, it has a wide range in adaptation to different 
soils. Budded on the peach root it may be grown successfully on 
the light, warm, well-drained loams in which the peach delights. 
The peach root is, in fact, largely used for the apricot. It gives 
the tree quick growth and early fruiting, and the fact that the gopher 
does not like the peach root is a consideration with some planters. 
In growing stocks, pits of a strong-growing yellow peach are be- 
lieved to yield more uniform and thrifty seedlings. 

For deep, rich, well-drained, loamy soils, the apricot on its own 
root makes a magnificent tree. Apricot roots for budding are easily 
secured. The pits sprout as readily as corn. Sometimes, where 
cutting and drying are done in the orchard, the ground the next 
spring will be almost covered with a volunteer crop of seedling 
apricots. These little plants, taken up and set out in nursery rows 
in March, are ready for budding in June or July. Large numbers 
of trees are sometimes secured in this way. In the upper San 
Joaquin Valley there are situations in which the apricot seems 
more productive on its own roots than on the peach, and in the 
moister parts of the San Fernando and tributary valleys in south- 
ern California the apricot root has recently advanced in popularity. 
It is, however, rather more sensitive to soil-drouth than the peach 
root. 

When it is desired to grow the apricot in moister and heavier 
soils than have been described, or where a light soil is underlaid 
by a heavy, retentive subsoil, recourse should be had to the plum 
root. Only a non-suckering plum stock should be used. For this 
purpose the Myrobalan has been considerably used. Some growers 
complain that the root has a dwarfing effect on the tree, and object 
to its use. The manner of securing Myrobalan stocks has been 
described in the chapter on propagation. 

Apricot on Almond. — The almond should as a rule be rejected 
as a stock for the apricot. Hundreds have tried it, and found that 
the scion never made a good union with the wood of the stock 
but was knit to it only by the bark, and is, therefore, easily broken 
off by the wind. It may grow well and sometimes gets to be two 
or three inches in diameter before it breaks off, thus wasting much 
time for the orchardist. Whole orchards worked in this way hava 
been a loss and disappointment. 

A few growers, however, approve the almond and use it with 
the idea that it gives larger fruit. It has been claimed that the 
Royal apricot will take well on the almond seedling by root grafting, 
instead of budding, using the side graft. Cut off the top of the 
stock about four to six inches above ground, scrape away the dirt 



248 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

bend the stock, and, with a sharp, thin knife, cut into the root to 
the center, making the cut perpendicular, so that the graft will be 
that way when inserted. The scion should be made wedge-shaped. 
After insertion, draw the loose earth around it, and the work is done 
until the graft has made a growth of eighteen to twenty-four inches. 
This is given as a record of experience, but still caution is urged 
against the use of the almond as a stock for the apricot. 

The apricot may also be made to hold on the almond by double 
working, growing first as a shoot from a peach or plum bud and 
then working an apricot bud higher up on in the new shoot. 

In addition to the specifications of certain stocks for different 
soils, it may be remarked, in a general way, that the apricot seems 
to thrive better on a tolerably heavy soil, with enough sand to make 
it work easily, than on a very light soil. It does well on soil rather 
too heavy for the peach. It also enjoys moisture better and gives 
signs of distress unless its roots are fairly supplied all during the 
season, but it dislikes standing water and should not be planted on 
undrained situations. 



PLANTING THE APRICOT 

The apricot becomes a large tree in California, as has already 
been remarked, and it should be given plenty of room. Twenty- 
four feet each way is certainly a minimum distance for so large 
and long-lived tree, and some orchards have been planted at thirty 
feet. If nearer planting is done it should be with reference to sub- 
sequent removal of part of the trees, which, however, is very seldom 
done. Twenty feet apart, with later removal of half the trees to 
double the distance was proposed by H. D. Briggs, of Azusa, in 
this way : 

In setting out an orchard it seems advisable to double set the ground, as an 
apricot twelve to fifteen years old should have not less than 800 to 900 square 
feet of ground. This can easily be obtained by setting 20x20 feet; then when 
nine or ten years old remove every other tree, making them forty feet in the 
row, with rows twenty feet apart, of course, taking them out diagonally. The 
trees will very quickly tell the orchardist when they are too thick. When the 
outside rows have twice the fruit of those inside, it is quite evident that the time 
spent in pruning, etc., on half of the trees is worse than wasted. I have cut 
roots forty feet from a nine-year-old tree. 

The apricot makes such rapid growth and so much depends upon 
giving it proper form, as will be seen presently, that one year's 
growth is all that should be allowed in the nursery. Some growers 
would rather have a dormant bud than a two-year-old tree, and 
cases have been reported from dormant buds outgrowing yearling 
trees planted at the same time in the same orchard. But in growing 
from a dormant bud in the orchard care should be taken to develop 
a short trunk, with properly-spaced branches, by pinching the side 
shoots near the ground. Trees started from dormant bud and 



PRUNING THE APRICOT 249 

allowed to branch from the grouiul, have developed very unsatis- 
factory form, and have, in some situations, lost their lower branches 
by the wind. The tree should have a low head, but a short trunk- 
seems to give a better tree, and more elasticity to the branches. 



PRUNING THE APRICOT 

Of all the California orchard trees, the apricot seems most in 
need of the constant attention of the orchardist to give it proper 
shape and strength. It is a rampant grower, and in its zealous haste 
for size and fruitage it over-reaches itself and becomes the prey of 
specific gravity and wind force. Thousands of trees have been 
ruined by literally breaking to pieces with the weight of their fruit, 
and being torn by winds of only ordinary velocity. Thousands more 
have been rescued from such a fate by bolting the branches to each 
other. This excessive growth and consequent weakness of the 
apricot is greater in some parts of the State than in others, because 
of the difference in degree of forcing conditions, but everywhere 
the apricot needs w-atchfulness and timely aid in building up its 
strength. The general principles to be observed in securing 
branches strongly attached to a short trunk have already been dis- 
cussed at length in the chapter on pruning. 

There has been a very marked change during the last few years 
of the pruning of the apricot. Summer pruning, immediately after 
the fruit is picked, has become much more general, and winter 
jiruning has proportionally decreased. The new practice is cer- 
tainly more rational than the old. Young trees are winter pruned 
to ])romote low branching and short, stout limbs; bearing trees 
are summer pruned to promote fruit bearing and check wood 
growth — the excess of bearing shoots being removed by thinning 
during the winter. 

The apricot tree bears upon old spurs, like the plum ; also upon 
the new wood, like the peach. This fact has to be l)orne in mind 
when winter thinning of the new growth is undertaken. 

A very clear record of procedure is given by J. B. Neff, of Ana- 
heim. Orange County, who built u]) one of the best apricot orchards 
in the State as he describes. This orchard has been displaced to 
make way for English walnut trees which are more profitable in 
that district, but that was no fault of the pruning: 

Pruning the apricot requires some skill and considerable judgment, which can 
only be formed by experience and observation of the habits of the tree. Trees 
of four to five feet in height are preferable for planting, and when planted should 
be trimmed to a single stem and cut off at eighteen inches from the ground. 
These will throw out shoots vigorously, and frequently two or three shoots from 
one bud. These shoots should be thinned out, leaving not more than four or 
five, no two of which should come from one bud, nor be directly opposite. The 
first shoot should start twelve inches from the ground, the others in such a 



250 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

manner as to divide tlie space and make the branches balance, leaving the top 
shoot to form the central part of the tree. 

It will be necessary to go over the trees several times the first year to remove 
shoots that may start where not wanted, but no general heading back should be 
done, as it tends to dwarf the tree; though if some of the limbs are making an 
overgrowth they should be pinched back to keep the head balanced. 

The pruning of the second year should be done in January, as the tree will 
not be dormant until then, if it has been kept in a thrifty condition. The first 
year's growth should be cut back to within five or ten inches of the body of the 
tree, and all forks should be cut out, even if it necessitates forming a new head, 
as it is much better to lose some growth on a young tree than to take the risk of 
splitting down when the tree begins to bear fruit. 

When the shoots start for the second year's growth, take off all that come on 
the under side of the limbs and thin to one, two, or three, as may be needed to 
balance the tree, bearing in mind that an apricot tree inclines toward the coast 
breezes in this locahty. 

The second year will require much more attention than the first year, in order 
to keep off suckers and all lateral growth that may start on the under side of 
the new limbs, the object being to make the limbs grow as nearly upright as 
possible. The remark on heading back holds good for the second year also. 

The trees will become dormant earlier the second year than they did the first, 
but should not be trimmed earlier than December, and a month later is preferable, 
as the ends of the Hmbs are not exposed to the drying winds so long before the 
sap begins to flow, and consequently will heal over better. The second year's 
growth should now be cut back to within fifteen to twenty inches of the old 
wood, except the central stem, which may be left twenty-four to thirty inches 
long, depending on the number of laterals it may have thrown out. When the 
new shoots start they should again be thinned down to two or three on each 
limb, and all taken off that tend to turn down or out at right angles, but do not 
take off the fruit spurs. 

The trees will need to be gone over about three times before July to remove 
suckers and lateral growth that may start on the lower side of the limbs, as the 
tendency in the third year is to make an. immense growth of downward laterals, 
and these must be taken off so as to develop wood that is to be left for fruit. 
If the orchard is on good land and has been properly irrigated and cultivated, 
the trees should now be large enough to begin to yield fruit. The object in 
trimming during the first two years and the first half of the third year has been 
to grow a vigorous upright tree, with strong limbs, capable of carrying a heavy 
load of large fruit, and to get the fruit as close to the body of the tree as possible. 

There will be a few specimens of the fruit the third year, and as soon as these 
are gathered the trees should be summer pruned for the first time, care being 
taken that the land shall have been allowed to become moderately dry so that 
the trees may be partially dormant. If the downward growth of the laterals has 
been kept cut off, all that remains to be done is to cut off about one-half of all 
this season's growth all over the tree, using the same judgment as before with 
reference to prevailing winds and symmetry of tree. If this is properly done and 
water at once turned on the orchard, a new growth will be made and the fruit 
buds for next year fully developed. 

The only pruning necessary in the following winter will be to take out any 
cross limbs and sprouts that may have been overlooked in the summer. 

After the trees begin to produce regular crops they will not grow so vigor- 
ously, and the numerous prunings of the first three years will not be necessar3^ 
as almost all can be done by summer pruning until the trees get so old that they 
need the old wood taken out. This can be more readily done without damage 
to the trees where from 24 to 30 limbs are grown, than in the old method of 
leaving only eight or ten large limbs. 

When it becomes necessary to take out old wood — as the best fruit grows on 
new wood — a few limbs can be taken out each year until a full top of new 
wood is again made. 



THixxixc, I'lii: Ai'KK'or 251 

Winter Pruning. — The e\i(IciU defect of niaii\' old apricot 
orchards is the failure of the low-bearing wood and the thicket of 
brush near the ends of lono^ bare limbs. Such trees need renewal 
of the top by vigorous winter pruning, which should preferably be 
done toward the close of the dormant season rather than early in 
the winter as formerly. Old and unprofitable trees have been re- 
claimed in this way. 

AX'inter pruning is still the regular method in some parts of the 
State where the conditions do not favor excessive growth of the 
tree and where summer pruning does not seem to be called for. 
The practice is to remove half or two-thirds of the new growth and 
thin out, by removing entirely enough new and old wood to prevent 
the tree from becoming thick and brushy. 

THTXXIXrx THE .APRICOT 

All free-fruiting varieties of the apricot must be thinned to 
secure size acceptable to purchasers. It is the experience of the 
oldest growers that though thinning is an expensive operation, it is 
very profitable. When half the fruit is taken off in thinning, the 
remainder reaches as large aggregate weight as though the whole 
were allowed to mature and the thinned fruit is worth about twice 
as much per pound. Even if less weight is secured, and in most 
cases the purpose should be to get less weight, the tree is spared 
the exhaustion of over-bearing and the owner escapes a year of little 
or no fruit. .\ discussion of this subject is given in a previous 
chapter. 

\Vhere conditions are favorable, the tree will set more fruit than 
it can bring to full size, and for this reason thinning or spacing the 
fruit on the twigs by hand-picking, while the fruit is about the size 
of a pigeon's egg, is almost a universal practice among the best 
commercial growers. This is necessary to bring the individual 
fruits to the diameters required by canners or overland shippers 
and which they scale in price according to size: Extras, 2l4 inches; 
No. 1, 2 inches; No. 2, 1>< inches. Emit of less size is hard of sale 
unless the crop happens to be very small. It has also been found 
that thinning to regulate svze is quite as important when the fruit 
is to be dried by the grower as when sold as fresh fruit. 

IRRIGATION OE THE APRICOT 

Whether the apricot shall be irrigated or not is answered in 
the chapter on irrigation. In many locations, with proper pruning, 
thinning and cultivation, perfectly satisfactory fruit can be grown 
wath the usual rainfall. In others a single winter irrigation will 



252 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

satisfy all the needs of the tree; in others a single irrigation just 
after fruit picking and summer pruning will carry the tree through, 
It is a fact, however, that as the trees advance in age some supple- 
ment to the average rainfall is often desirable and in dry years irri- 
gation is the saving of two crops. Some idea of the amount of 
water used can be had from the chapter on irrigation. The fol- 
lowing account by Mr. Neff applies to his practice in Orange 
County, which is an average situation as to rainfall and atmos- 
pheric humidity, and is as good a general statement as could be 
made : 

If rains are copious, winter irrigation may be dispensed with during the first 
two or three years after planting the orchard, but when the trees reach the age 
for bearing fruit the rain water should be supplanted by irrigation water until 
the soil is thoroughly wet 5 feet deep, and in order to have this, at least 20 inches 
of water, including rainfall, must be put on the land. Three irrigations should be 
given the trees during the first summer, but it is not necessary to wet more than 
a strip 5 or 6 feet wide along the tree rows. The orchard should have three 
irrigations during the second summer and a strip 12 feet wide should be watered, 
as the roots are reaching farther and the trees require a greater amount of water. 
The irrigation for the first two years should always be done before the trees 
show any want of water, so as to keep them growing vigorously. 

All the space between the trees should be watered the third year and after- 
ward ; but two irrigations will be sufficient for the summer. The best time for 
the summer irrigation of bearing apricot trees is when the fruit is about half 
grown, which is usually about the second or third week in May. 

If well watered at this time the fruit grows to its largest, and has time to 
ripen slowly as the ground gradually dries, until it has all the sugar which will 
go into the fruit. An orchard in full bearing that has been well watered in the 
winter should now have as much as full 100 inches of water for two hours on 
each acre (equal to four acre-inches). 

The second irrigation should be given as soon as possible after the summer 
pruning is done, in order to start the trees growing and develop the fruit buds 
for the next year. This will not require so much water as the irrigation in May, 
but ought to be as much as 10(1 inches of water for one hour on each acre. 



DISEASES OF THE APRICOT 

Though the apricot tree, as has been said, is regarded as one 
of the healthiest fruit trees, it is subject to some maladies. Trees 
perish from being set in unsuitable situations, and in these cases, 
if the evil be stagnant water in the soil, or penetration to alkaline 
subsoil, the root shows it. Sometimes, however, a branch or a 
whole tree withers and dies without apparent cause early in the 
summer, and while the root is still sound. The disease is evi- 
dently acute, but its cause is not known, nor a remedy proposed. 
It is an old trouble of the apricot, and not peculiar to California. 

The so-called "gum disease" sometimes causes injury to trees. 
The best treatment is to cut away the diseased part down to 
healthy wood and cover the wound with common lead and oil 
paint, putting on sparingly so as not to flow over healthy bark. 



DISEASKS OF TH F. Al'RICOT 253 

Some years certain varieties in particular are blackened at the 
pit and rendered unsalable, but the trouble has not thus far proved 
serious generally, except with certain varieties which have gener- 
ally gone out of use for that reason. 

The worst injury to tree and fruit is done by what is called the 
"shot-hole fungus" (coryncnm), from its perforations of the leaves 
as though by a charge from a shotgun. It makes ugly scars on the 
fruit, which renders it unsalable. The same disease also affects 
the leaves of cherries and plums. Thorough use of the Bordeaux 
mixture described in a later chapter will prevent this trouble. 

-V disease which is prevalent in some districts of southern Cali- 
fornia is called "black heart"; a pith disease which sometimes does 
great injury. No treatment except that of pruning back to healths- 
wood has thus far been proposed. Root knot is also a serious 
trouble of the apricot as of several other trees. It will be con- 
sidered in the chapter devoted to disease of fruit trees. 

Until recently the apricot has been generally free from scale 
insects, and it ist not aflfected by those species which are worst 
on some other fruit trees, but recently it has been seriously infested 
in some places with black and brown scales, which will be consid- 
ered in a later chapter. 

The ripe apricot is sometime? seriously assailed by the diabrotica, 
ii small green beetle, with twelve black spots upon its wing covers. 
Driving the insects away with smoke smudges has been used to 
some extent. Fortunately, the insect only occasionally occurs in 
large numbers. 

Varieties Approved by California Growers. 





Central 


Interior 




VARIETIES. 


coast 


valley and 


Southern 




valleys. 


foothills. 


California. 


Bergetti 




** 




Blenheim 


** 


.-;<* 


** 


Early Golden 




* 


** 


Early Moorpark 




** 


Hemskirke 


*-M 


* 
* 




Large Early 




** 


Large Early Montgamct 


:'!< 


* 




Luizet 




* 




Moorpark 


** 


* 


* 


Newcastle 




:|:* 




Oullin's Early 


* 


-y 




Peach 




** 


* 


Royal 


** 


** 


** 


Routier's Peach 




** 




Spark's Mammoth 






>ti 


St. Ambroise 




* 
* 




Tilton 






Wiggin's Seedling 







254 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

VARIETIES OF THE APRICOT 

Though nearly all standard varieties of the apricot have been 
introduced and planted in this State, comparatively few are found 
on the list of the orchard planters. Many local seedlings have 
been brought to notice and propagated to some extent but are less 
used now than twelve years ago, and the disposition is to restrict 
planting to a few old varieties. There is, however, still a need of 
new varieties combining size, quality and regular bearing. As 
with most other fruits, some varieties are found to succeed wher- 
ever conditions favor the fruit at all ; other varieties succeed in 
some regions and not in others. Our table of varieties for the 
different counties shows this fact, and an attempt will be made 
to make the showing more explicit by notes in connection with 
the mention of each variety. 

In ,the following statement the arrangement is approximately 
in the order of ripening, and the descriptions are from Downing, 
with additions and changes to meet local observation : 

VARIETIES OF FOREIGN ORIGIN 

Large Early. — A French variety ; fruit of meduim size, rather oblong and 
compressed ; suture deep, skin slightly downy ; pale orange in the shade, fine 
bright orange with a few ruddy spots in the sun ; flesh separating readily from 
the stone, orange colored, rich and juicy; kernel bitter. This variety is espe- 
cially popular in th^ southern coast counties, but in most situations has proved 
an uncertain bearer. Ripens before Royal. 

Wiggin's Seedling. — Favored in Winter's district as best of early apricots; 
good size, fine color, solid red cheek, good bearer ; ten days earlier than Royal. 

Early Golden. — Origin unknown ; small, roundish oval, with suture well 
marked and extending half way around ; skin smooth, pale orange ; flesh yellow, 
moderately juicy and sweet, with very good flavor; separates from the stone. 
This variety is reported favorably from some counties, but generally otherwise, 
and is not largely grown. Ripens before Royal. 

Royal. — A French variety, and at the present time the leading California 
apricot. Of large size (when well thinned out), free stone, fine color and flavor, 
good bearer, and fruit ripens evenly, when well grown ; a favorite with the 
canners, and an excellent variety for drying. Fruit roundish, large, oval, slightly 
compressed ; skin dull yellow with orange cheek, very faintly tinged with red, and 
a shallow suture; flesh pale orange, firm and juicy, with a rich vinous flavor. 

There is a variety somewhat grown in Sacramento and Solano counties, some- 
times called "White Royal," which is not liked by canners, because of its lack of 
color and flavor. 

Large Early Montgamct. — Large, orange yellow, reddish on sunny side, firm. 

Oullin's Early. — Early form of Peach apricot, large size, delicious flavor. 
Ripens in Amador county four weeks earlier than Peach. 

Luizet. — Large, oval, distinct suture, one side higher than the other; orange 
with crimson cheek ; flesh deep yellow, firm, rich. Especially approved in the 
upper San Joaquin. 

Blenheim or Shipley. — This is a valuable variety in this State, and seems to 
surpass Downing's description both in vigor of tree and size of fruit. John Rock 
modifies Downing's description to suit California experience with this variety, as 



POPULAR KINDS OF APRICOTS 255 

follows: "A very good variety, above medium, oval; orange, with a deep yellow, 
juicy, and tolerably rich flesh ; vigorous grower and regular, prolific bearer." 
This agrees perfectly with the behavior of the variety in the University orchard 
at Berkeley, where it is the best of twenty varieties. It is not reported so constant 
a bearer in some other parts of the State. Fruit runs a little larger than the 
Royal, and is usually better distributed on the tree, but it must be well thinned. 
This variety has been approved by canners. Ripens a little later than the Royal. 

Early Moorpark. — Very popular in Southern California, where its identity has 
been long in dispute, and is not yet fully determined. The Early Moorpark of 
Thomas Hogg is as follows : Roundish, inclining to oval, with very deep suture 
on one side, extending from base to apex. Skin yellow, mottled, and dotted with 
crimson on the exposed side. Flesh in all respects resembling Moorpark. Stone 
oblong, with a covered channel along the back, which is pervious. Kernel bitter. 
Ripens three weeks earlier than Moorpark. 

St. Ambroise. — Large, early, compressed, deep yellow, reddish on sunny side. 
Juicy, rich, and sugary, with firm flesh when grown in the interior ; apt to be 
coarse and to lack flavor near the coast. Condemned by canners for not process- 
ing well, and by dryers for loss of weight and for white color around the pit. It 
has served well as a shipping variety. 

Bergctti. — An undetermined variety introduced by Mr. Bergetti and widely 
distributed under his name in the San Joaquin. 

Hcmskirkc. — A fine English variety quite widely grown in California ; ripens 
later than Royal ; described by Downing as follows : "Fruit large, roundish, but 
considerably compressed or flattened on its sides ; skin orange, with red cheek ; 
flesh bright orange, tender, rather more juicy and sprightly than the Moorpark, 
with rich, luscious, plum-like flavor ; stone not perforate, rather small, and kernel 
bitter." Esteemed in California because the tree is more hardy and a more regular 
bearer than the Moorpark, and the fruit ripens evenly on both sides. Sometimes 
drops worse than other varieties. 

Peach. — A variety from Piedmont of the largest size, about two inches in 
diameter, roundish, rather flattened, and somewhat compressed on its sides, with 
a well-marked suture ; skin yellow in the shade, but deep orange mottled with 
brown on the sunny side; flesh of a fine yellow, saffron color, juicy, rich, and 
high flavored; stone can be penetrated like Moorpark. and has bitter kernel. 
This is a very successful sort in the warmer parts of the State especially, and is a 
favorite in the Sacramento Valley. It ripens just ahead of the Moorpark. 

Moorpark. — .A. standard of excellence and an old variety which originated in 
England. Fruit large, roundish, about two inches and a quarter in diameter each 
way ; rather larger on one side of the suture than on the other ; skin orange in 
the shade, but deep orange or brownish red in the sun, marked with numerous 
dark specks and dots ; flesh quite firm, bright orange, parting free from the stone, 
quite juicy, with a rich and luscious flavor; stone peculiarly perforated along the 
back, where a pin may be pushed through ; kernel bitter. In California the 
Moorpark reaches grand size, but has the fault of ripening unevenly in most 
localities. The tree is tender and bears irregularly, which leads to its rejection 
by most planters, though some growers cling to it because of its size and quahty 
and occasional grand crops. The San Jose districts lead in the production of 
this variety, and in some parts of the Santa Clara Valley the Moorpark seems to 
ripen uniformly. The same behavior is reported from localities in the upper San 
Joaquin Valley, where it aLso seems to be a more regular bearer. The variety is 
almost wholly rejected in Southern California. 



VARIETIES OF CALIFORNIA ORIGIN 

Newcastle. — Originated with C. M. Silva & Son, of Newcastle, Placer county, 
in 1881 ; size medium, round, with spherical pit ; freestone ; not quite as large as 
the Royal, nor quite as rich in flavor, but more highly colored ; rather darker on 
the side to the sun. Early, regular and good bearer, a medium grower, being 
more upright than the Royal. Its time of ripening has been reported as seventeen 
days earlier than the Early Golden, and twenty-five days earlier than the Royal. 



256 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Roiitie/s Peach. — Originated with Hon. Joseph Routier, near Sacramento 
Large, yellow in shade ; deep orange, mottled or splashed with red in the sun ; 
flesh juicy and rich, high flavor and a good market variety. Blooms a week later 
than peach. Very popular in Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. 

Spark's Mammoth. — Popular in Ventura county. Largest size, even larger 
than Moorpark; pale yellow, very tender, juicy and sweet. Quite widely distrib- 
uted in Southern California, but its bearing habit is in question. 

Tilton. — Chance seedling first noticed about 1885 on place of J. E. Tilton, near 
Hanford, Kings county, and distinguished by regular bearing. Propagated and 
introduced by J. W. Bairstow, of Hanford. Fruit large ; freestone ; symmetrical, 
ripening evenly and one week to ten days later than Royal. Tree vigorous and 
prolific. Widely planted recently and very promising, though condemned for shy 
bearing in some places. 

Late Englehardt. — Chance seedling originating at La Crescenta. Propagated 
and introduced by W. B. Thorne of Tropico. Large as Moorpark, ripening 
evenly and twenty-eight days later than Royal. Claimed by J\Ir. Thorne to be a 
very late bloomer, and thus escaping frosts which caught all other varieties at 
similar elevations. Planted chiefly in Los Angeles county. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE CHERRY 

Althougli the amount of cherries grown in this State is small 
as compared with the aggregate weights of some other fruits, the 
cherry, from the growth of the tree and the size and quality of 
the product, is entitled to rank as one of the grand fruits of Cali- 
fornia. The size of the California-grown cherry is a matter of 
pride with the residents, and a marvel to visitors. It is related 
that, many years ago, one of the most distinguished Eastern 
pomologists, who was taken to an Alameda County cherry orchard 
during picking time, could not recognize the varieties, though 
he had himself propagated and shipped to California the very trees 
which were bearing the fruit, the size of which so far surpassed all 
his mental standards. And quality is commensurate with size. 
Whatever disagreement there may be concerning the flavors of 
our other fruits as compared with Eastern, the richness and ex- 
cellence of the California cherry have never been impeached. Re- 
cently the shipment of cherries to eastern markets, the extension 
of the canning interest, and the uprising of a demand for mara- 
schino-preserving have considerably enlarged the opportunity for 
profitable growth of the friut. 

Famous Old Trees. — The longevity and productiveness of the 
cherry tree in this State is naturally of interest. Cherries that were 
planted in some of the earliest settled parts of the State are still 
in full vigor. One of the famous trees is a Black Tartarian, which 
was brought from France by Dr. L. E. Miller, and planted by 
him in 1854, on land afterwards owned by Robert Hector in 
Placer county, just below Rattlesnake Bar, on the American River 
about eight hundred feet above sea-level. It is described as above 
seventy feet in height, the branches covering a space between sev- 
enty feet and seventy-five feet in diameter. The trunk branches 
about six feet above the ground, and at that point has a girth of 
over ten feet. A close record of its crop, kept for a number of 
vears when the tree was over thirty years of age, showed that it 
yielded from a ton to a ton and a half a year. Such trees are too 
large to be profitable, for the fruit has to be picked with the aid of 
extension ladders securely guyed, by men slung in swings from 
such ladders or the forks of the trees. At last reports there were 
about fifty of these large trees. Other large trees were to be seen 
near Woodside, San Mateo County, and near Oroville and Chico in 
Butte County, some of wliich have borne a ton of fri^it in favorable 
seasons. 

2.57 






UMlA 



w* 






ji 



^^ 



> 

c 
c 

3 




258 



SOILS FOR THE CHERRY 259 

LOCALITIES FOR THE CHERRY 

In California there are many districts in which the cherry does 
not do well, and situations for the fruit must therefore be selected 
with discrimination. The chief product is made in the coast valleys 
adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco, including its extension east 
of the Coast Range, known as Suisun bay, for in all these regions 
there is a modification of climate due to the influence of ocean tem- 
perature and moisture. Away from these influences the cherry 
also thrives on the alluvial bottoms of large rivers and their tribu- 
tar}'^ creeks, both on the low lands of the valleys and the foothills, 
while on broad valley plains and foothill slopes it is not usually 
satisfactory. In the mountain valleys cherries also thrive in suit- 
able soils. In southern California at elevations where moisture 
is adequate and temperatures favor suitable winter dormancy of the 
trees, good cherries are profitably grown, while on the mesas and 
valleys below, where citrus fruits flourish, the cherry is an aggra- 
vation. 

How far atmospheric conditions which are beyond control 
influence the growth and fruitage of the cherry, can not yet be 
fully determined, but ample trial seems to demonstrate the unsat- 
isfactory character of the tree, manifested in small fruit and sun- 
burned foliage, on the plains of interior valleys, although the soil 
is kept moist enough. There is, however, still the chance of secur- 
ing varieties of the fruit which have been developed under condi- 
tions similar to those prevailing in the interior of California. The 
Russian cherries, which are largely grown in a region subject to 
high summer heat and dry air. will succeed in parts of California 
where the varieties originating in west Europe fail. Though this 
was suggested long ago, the effort has not yet been made. 

SOILS FOR THE CHERRY 

The cherry thrives in free, deep soil, in which water does not 
stand within about 15 feet from the surface. It delights in deep 
deposits from old water courses, and does not dislike a moderate 
amount of sand. A loam underlaid by a sandy subsoil is accept- 
able, but a loam underlaid by clay has shown its unfitness by the 
early failure of the trees, while those on deep loam near by have 
remained vigorous and profitable. On the foothills it thrives in the 
light, mellow soil and fails in the tight clay either in soil or sub- 
soil, as it does in the adobe of lower lands; and yet a clay loam of 
no great depth upon a clay subsoil may grow good trees if the clay 
be so disposed that surplus water from winter rains can escape 
and water is at hand to guard against summer drouth. But this is 
merely a suggestion for garden growth of the cherry. Commercial 



260 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

orchards should have a good depth of sufficiently retentive soil. 
The great cherry trees which we have mentioned, are growing right 
on the bank of the American River, where the soil is a pure, sandy 
loam, in some places over sixty feet deep, as proved by an old shaft 
once dug near the center of the orchard. 

But though the cherry dislikes a wet soil, it is particular about 
its water supply and insists upon enough, its requirements being 
greater than some other trees. During the dry years 1898 and 1899, 
trees came into distress where they had never suffered before, and 
many large valuable trees died. The only new condition they en- 
countered was lack of soil moisture. It thus appears that while 
the cherry is undoubtedly injured by excess of water in the soil 
it is still very exacting in its requirement of an adequate supply. 
If this can not be retained in the soil by cultivation, irrigation must 
be resorted to. Thus the cherry growers in the famous Willows 
district, of San Jose, usually find it an advantage to give their trees 
an irrigation between the spring rains and the ripening of the fruit, 
and another irrigation after the fruit is gathered. 

Irregularity in the moisture supply also causes the cherry to 
bloom and fruit unseasonably. There has been bloom in October 
and ripe fruit in January, due to the fact that trees become dormant 
in late summer from soil-drouth. January cherries may be evi- 
dences of salubrity but they betoken poor horticulture. 

These facts show that the cherry must have water enough or 
it will not succeed. Sometimes young trees which have made a 
good summer growth die outright on leachy soils which dry out 
before the fall rains begin. On the other hand, there must not be 
excessive moisture in the soil either from irrigation or by mois- 
ture. Cherry trees in southern California, planted with orange trees 
and given similar irrigation, have failed utterly. Planting on natur- 
ally moist land in low places has also failed, and observed facts some 
time ago led to the conclusion that at the south the cherry should 
be planted on well-drained land, which could be irrigated (as the 
behavior of the tree indicated its need of water), rather than on 
naturally moist land, because of the likelihood of excessive moisture 
in such situations. More recent experience has declared mellow, 
well-drained soils of the higher lands well adapted to the cherry 
and on such soils, when well cultivated, cherries have done well 
without irrigation at Pasadena, Pomona and elsewhere. The com- 
mercial cherry product of southern California comes, however, from 
mountain valleys and high plateaux — the chief regions being the 
Yucaipe Valley above Redlands and the Alesa Grande region in 
the interior of San Diego County. 

In California, as elsewhere, the Dukes and Morellos mav suc- 
ceed where the Hearts and Bigarreaux fail. The May Duke seems 
especially hardy, and bears well in Nevada, where other sorts fail 
utterly. 



SiTUATIOXS FOR THE CHERRV 261 

Delayed Fruiting of Cherry Trees. — Though tlie cherry in fav- 
orable situations bears early, tbe grower, especially on strong, rich 
lands, will often have many years of disappointment from falling 
blossoms and fruit. During this time the trees will be making 
marvelous wood growth, and this apparently suppresses the fruit- 
ing function. Usually these trees will ultimately bear when their 
exuberant growth declines. The}^ can be thrown into fruit sooner 
by allowing the trees to go uncultivated, or by root pruning 
digging a trench around about eight feet from the tree, and sever- 
ing the roots thus encountered, or b}^ summer pruning of twig' ends. 
Because of this over-growth, growers give such soil to the apple 
or the pear rather than the cherry. Sometimes the non-bearing of 
the cherry is inexplicable. Though everything seems to be right, 
and the blooms are profuse, the fruit will not stick. 

Unquestionably lack of bearing is due with certain cherries to 
lack of association of different varieties and cross fertilization. 
There is warrant for the claim that keeping bees in the vicinity of 
cherry orchards has increased the bearing. But varieties must 
be provided which will act as cross-pollinizers. The Royal Ann 
needs this assistance and will bear better when associated with 
Black Tartarian, Black Bigarreaux, Bing and probably others. In 
Oregon the Deacon and Lambert are said to be good poUinizers 
for Royal Ann. 

EXPOSURES FOR THE CHERRY 

Exposures for the cherry are chosen both with reference to 
protection from frost injury and to early ripening of the fruit. The 
cherry blooms early ; though hardly as venturesome as the apricot 
and almond. In protected situations, guarded from cold northerly 
winds, and open to sunshine on the south and southeast, the fruit 
advances to maturity very rapidly. In Vaca Valley about a month 
of good weather after the blossoming will ripen an early cherry 
and ripe cherries have been shipped as early as March 31. The 
pioneer cherry growers of Vaca Valley went there from their old 
homes in Napa Valley, because they could gather and market cher- 
ries in their new locations before the same varieties were ripe in 
Napa. They chose places protected on the north and west by steep hills. 
The two things to secure are, apparently, protection from the sweep 
of cold winds and elevation above the deposits of cold air, which 
occurs in depressed places. 

In localities where fruit ripens late, as near the coast, there is 
no need to seek forcing conditions, for the extra early varieties 
should not be planted except for family use. Early varieties are 
comparatively poor in quality, and will not sell profitably, as they 
will reach the market alongside the better later sorts from earlier 



262 CALIFORNIA fruits: ttOW TO GROW THEM 

districts. The place for the cherry in the latter districts is on the 
most proper soil, according to the requirements which have been 
laid down, avoiding, however, so far as possible, wind-swept spots, 
and seeking amelioration of direct ocean influences by elevation or 
intervention of hills and windbreaks. 



PROPAGATION AND PLANTING THE CHERRY 

In the chapter on propagation is given a successful method of 
growing cherry seedlings. California cherry trees are almost ex- 
clusively propagated by budding on seedlings of the Black Maz- 
zard. The Mahaleb root is more hardy than the Mazzard and is 
less subject to injury by soil saturation during the winter season. 
It is also more hardy against injury by summer drouth on shallow 
soils, which is one of the causes of die-back of the cherry tree in 
some parts of the State. AVhile there may be particular places in 
which the jNIahaleb is the better root, the conclusions of fifty years' 
experience in California cherry growing, which approve the Maz- 
zard, are on the whole trustworthy. The Mazzard is a better 
grower and, where moisture conditions are fairly good, leaves little 
to be desired. The Mazzard, however, though credited with a 
dwarfing influence, does make a good sized tree under our con- 
ditions. Recently the Morello or sour cherry seedling, has found 
favor with some growers on the Sacramento River, although it is 
inhospitable to the buds of some varieties, like the Early Purple 
Guigne and Royal Ann, and double working has to be resorted to 
which is expensive, both in outlay and time. The Black Tartarian 
takes well on the Morello and other varieties can be budded upon 
the Tartarian top growth. 

The planting of the cherry is covered by the general consid- 
erations already given for the planting of orchards. The distance 
which cherries should be set apart is a disputed point among 
planters. When planted twenty feet apart the trees have interlaced 
their branches when sixteen years old, and the spaces between the 
rows have been covered in like colonnades. In the Hayward re- 
gion the branches of twelve-year-old trees set twenty-eight feet 
apart have nearly reached each other, though continually cut 
back. Much depends in the matter of distance upon the manner 
of handling the trees. The trees can be grown much nearer together 
by continuous pruning than where the usual way of cutting back 
for the first few years and letting the tree take its natural growth 
after that, is followed. James E. Gedney, of Mesa Grande, San 
Diego County, practises close planting and cutting back which 
may work better on his upland than on deeper, moister soils. He 
says: 



pku.ninh; the chkrry 263 

I plant mj' trees twenty feet apart each way. My method is to plant tlnis 
closely and then keep my trees low, by cutting back every year; this facilitates 
gathering the fruit very much. I prefer this way to setting the trees farther 
apart and allowing them to attain too great a height. By the former method I 
secure fully as good, if not better, results per acre, to say nothing of the differ- 
ence in gathering the fruit. Another advantage in keeping the trees headed low 
is that the wind does not affect them nearly as much as it does tall trees. 

The best distances are 24 or 28 feet on such deep soils as have 
been described as best befitting the tree and thotigh one may fix 
his distance in planting- according to the method of pruning he 
proposes to follow, he should remember that the cherry is natur- 
ally a large tree, and most old orchards are now over-crowded. 

As with other trees, orchard planters prefer trees with one year's 
growth on the bud in the nursery, because they usually get. then, 
a straight switch with well developed buds all the way down, and 
the head can be formed as desired. For garden planting, older 
trees, properly pruned in the nursery, can be used to advantage. 



PRUNING THE CHERRY 

All our best growers agree in the advantage of a low head for 
the cherry, and all aim to have the trunks of young trees from the 
ground up to the limbs literally covered all around with leaves 
which completely shelter the bark from the rays of the sun. In 
planting, therefore, the side buds are carefully preserved — not to 
be grown into branches, but to be cut or pinched back when they 
have come out a few inches, leaving just growth enough to clothe 
the tree with a covering of its own foliage. These sptirs not only 
furnish leaves to shade the trunk. InU soon become fruit spurs and 
bear well. 

Low Heading with a Central Stem. — Some of the trees in the 
older orchards have been shaped by carrying up a leader with a 
regular system of side branches. Head back at planting to two 
feet, pinching ofT the shoots below the head as stated, and allow- 
ing the shoots which form the head to grow larger, but they too 
are all to be pinched except the leader, which is allow^ed to grow 
a,s long as it pleases during the summer. During fall or winter 
pruning cut back the leader to about twelve or sixteen inches from 
its starting point and cut back the side branches to about six or 
eight inches. This is done year after year, cutting back and thin- 
ning out the side shoots, pinching the laterals, and allowing the 
leader to grow, never interfering with it until the winter pruning 
and ahvays letting it predominate over the side shoots. Ry cutting 
short, wood is increased, but at the end of six years the tree goes 
into fruit very rapidly. As the tree increases in fruit it decreases in 
wood, and by the time it is ten or twelve years old there will be 



264 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

but little cutting to do, except to shorten in and thin out, and this 
requires some judgment and experience, to know where to cut, how 
to cut, and when to cut. To shorten in, never cut down to an old 
fruit spur. It is very difficult to get healthy wood out of such; 
but whenever you can find last year's wood, there you can cut with 
safety anything that is less than one inch in diameter. 

This system of pruning must be accompanied by constant pinch- 
ing during the summer time. It should commence when the lower 
shoots are about six inches long, and be followed up closely all 
through the growing season. Those on the trunk should never 
get longer than eight or ten inches, under any circumstances. After 
these are pinched, let the trees rest ten or fifteen days, or until the 
branches in the top get a good start. Then pinch everything clean 
but the leader, in every main branch in the tree. The leader takes 
its own way all through the growing season, to prevent the effects 
of over-pinching or checking growth. If only the side shoots are 
kept back, the leader or head of the branches receives the current 
or flow of sap and maintains and carries on life and vitality in the 
tree. One object in pinching or spur pruning is to keep back sur- 
plus wood and create fruit spurs, throwing all the little twigs and 
branches into fruit, thereby utilizing all the wood the tree can pro- 
duce, not allowing it to grow at the tree's expense, and then have to 
cut it ofif. And another object in side-shoot pruning is to make the 
tree produce fine large cherries, all closely nestling around the big 
wood, and no long, slim branches hanging down like weeping wil- 
low. All such branches are always more or less sunburnt on the 
top and full of worms, one of the evils tending to the destruction of 
the tree. 

This method is commended to those who like a tree with a 
central leader, and are willing to give their orchards such constant 
attention. Unless pinching and consequent multiplication of shoots 
and foliage is faithfully followed such a tree is apt to become tall 
and rangy and to expose the bark all the way up to sunburn and 
borers. 



THE USUAL METHOD OF PRUNING THE CHERRY 

As we have said, all cherry growers agree on low heading and 
on the advantage of pinching the lowest shoots as soon as they 
make a bunch of leaves. In forming the head, and in after treat- 
ment, the usual method is quite different from that we have de- 
scribed. It follows the vase or goblet form, which has been dis- 
cussed at length in the chapter on pruning. Of the application of 
this method to the cherry, W. W. Smith, in an address before the 
State Horticultural Society, said : 



GRAFTING THE CHERRV 265 

The cherry may be pruned the same as any other deciduous fruit tree until it 
is about five years old ; after that the less pruning the better, except when neces- 
sary to cut out a dead or crossing branch. Pruning the cherry is more or less 
likely to produce gum (and this, decay), and should be avoided as much as 
possible. Cherry trees, however, should be trained with low heads not to exceed 
eighteen inches from the ground to the first branches ; fifteen inches is better. 
From three to five branches are enough to form the head of the tree ; all others 
should be removed early. Three are better than five ; two make a forked tree, 
which is likely to split in after years. 

At the end of the first season we have a neat httle tree with three to five 
branches. During the following winter these branches should be cut back to six 
to eight inches. The next season these should be allowed to produce two 
branches each (no more) ; then, at the end of the second season from planting 
out, we have a tree with from six to ten branches. The following winter the new 
growth should be cut back again to from twelve to eighteen inches — according to 
the amount of growth the tree makes — the less the growth the more you cut. 
The same process should be repeated the following winter, treating each branch 
as an individual tree, until the tree is about five years old ; it takes at least five 
years to get the head of a cherry well established. After this, as some varieties 
will persist in throwing out branches near the ground, they should be removed 
during the summer. At this age the tree, if well grown, will have top enough to 
shade its body from the sun, and there is no further need of branches on the 
main trunk. 

If necessary to remove large branches it should then be done in midsummer, 
as that is the only season when the gum is not more or less exuded. We make 
it a rule to go over and dress up and prune our cherry orchard immediately after 
the crop is gathered — which in our part of the State is the last of May. All 
wounds made then by the removal of branches or otherwise will heal over the 
same season. All large wounds made at any time, however, should be coated 
over with paint. 

The method thtis described by Mr. Smith is that by which 
I)rol)ablv nine-tenths of the cherry trees of this State are shaped. 

In the cherry there should be the same observation as to cutting 
inside and outside buds as with other trees; in fact, the outside 
bud is the rule, because so many varieties make a directly upward 
growth. In removing limbs, cutting to the collar or swelling at 
the base of the limb is especially important, also the covering of 
the wound to prevent checking of the wood. 



GRAFTING OVER THE CHERRY 

Since canning of cherries began on a large scale, there has 
been a vastly increased demand for white cherries. The Royal 
Ann (a local name for Napoleon Bigarreau) has been the favorite. 
Other white sorts are also used for canning. This rise in favor 
of the white cherries has vastly increased their proportionate pro- 
duction as compared with the choice black and red varieties, which 
are still popular as table fruit. 

It is the experience of growers that the .cherry is grafted over 
as easily as the pear or apple, if the tree is healthy. In large 
trees as many as fifty or one hundred grafts may be set, choosing 
the smaller limbs, even if you have to go pretty high in the tree. 
J. W. Cassidy, of Petaluma, used to advise grafting before the sap 



266 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

begins to flow in the winter, or if not done then, wait until the 
buds are well advanced or the tree in bloom. He has trees which 
were over thirty years old before they were re-headed, and they 
made fine tops of new and healthy wood, and produced abundantly. 
The cherry is in fact a very easy tree to graft by the usual top- 
grafting methods. 



PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE CHERRY 

The disease of the cherry which is most heard of is the "gum," 
or overflow and condensation of sap, which, if left to itself, often 
induces decay of adjacent bark and wood. Without attempting 
to explain the cause or causes of the unhealthy exudation, it may 
be said that prompt treatment of certain manifestations is desir- 
able, and in others the tree should be cleansed from the flow: 
Where the gum exudes on the side of trunk or limb, the thin 
outer bark should be pared away with a sharp knife, the accumu- 
lation of gum and sap removed, and the wound painted with lead 
and oil paint, or covered with grafting wax. 

Gum in the crotch should be cleanly brushed out when soft- 
ened by the winter rains. If allowed to remain, it becomes sour and 
offensive and may injure the tree. In places where two or three 
limbs come out close together a kind of cup is formed, which will 
hold the gum from one year's end to another, and in its soft state, 
leaves, sticks, cherry pits, dust, and dirt will stick and hang and 
sometimes the mass becomes very foul. By this collection also, 
a nest is made for all manner of insects, bugs and worms. Another 
evil in letting the gum stay on is, if rain does not wash it off clean, 
it runs down the trunk of the tree and makes the bark look bad, 
and if it is very thick on the bark when it dries, it will contract 
and crack the bark crosswise, and is very injurious to the tree. 

Gumming in the crotch can be largely avoided by starting 
the young cherry as advocated in the chapter on pruning. 
Branches which emerge from the trunk at separate points and at 
wide angles seldom gum ; those which are crowded together or 
emerge at acute angles gum badly. In shaping young trees a 
gumming joint sometimes may be clearly cut out and those 
branches selected to remain which start out at a wider angle; in 
older trees there is nothing to do but keep the fork clean, as already 
described. 

There are cases reported in which gumming of old trees has 
been stopped by allowing the ground to lie uncultivated, weeds 
being cut down with the hoe. As a rule, however, the cherry thrives 
with good cultivation. 



POPULAR CHERRIES 267 

Die-back of the Cherry. — The dying back of cherry branches is 
more or less common in all regions, and the immediate cause 
thereof is not known. It is apparently sometimes a root trouble, 
as is the dying back of other fruit trees. This might have resulted 
from standing water in the winter in the soil, although the same 
condition may result from lack of sufficient moisture. Anything 
which causes destruction of the root hairs is apt to cause die-back 
and other forms of unlhrift in the top. Early vegetative activity in 
the branch, followed by frost, seems also to occasion die-back in 
some cases. Fortunately, this can occur without injury to the rest 
of the tree, though it is sometimes and in some places destructive 
to the tree in the end. The only treatment is removal of the af- 
fected wood, and if this can he done during the growing season, as 
soon as signs of injury appear, it is all the better. 

The Gopher. — One of the most dangerous foes of the cherry 
is the gopher, for he seldom takes less than the whole tree, young 
or old. Traces of his presence should be constantly watched for, 
and killing methods described in a later chapter adopted. If a 
tree is seen to wilt suddenly, the probability is that a gopher has 
girdled it. Covering the wound sometimes saves the tree, but not 
usually. 

Insects injuring the cherry will be mentioned in a subsequent 
chapter. 

VARIETIES OF THE CHERRY 

Many varieties of the cherry have been tested in this State, and 
many have been abandoned from one cause or another. Those 
most frequently starred in our " table are the survivors in public 
esteem. As our reports have come from those who grow for 
market, possibly some sorts are too tender for shipment, but excel- 
lent for family use, are omitted, but will be included in the descrip- 
tions which follow^ the table. The claims to value upon which a 
variety is judged are several : Extra earliness, an important con- 
sideration in early districts for shipment, and elsewhere for local 
sale or family use ; firnniess to withstand mechanical injury by 
jarring in transit and durability to escape decay during the long 
journey to distant markets ; firmness and fixed color to stand proc- 
essing in the cannery, and to prevent coloring the juice ; lateness 
to extend the cherry season. 

In classification of cherries it was originally considered that 
there were four classes of cherries. The Hearts were the tender 
and half-tender sweet cherries, while tlie Bigarreaux were the firm- 
lleshed ones ; but these have been so intermingled and blended 
together by hybridization that no distinct line can now be drawn 



268 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



separating them. There is really but one class of these, whose 
main characteristic is the large, vigorous growth of the tree. The 
Duke and Morello cherries, also wanting a natural division, really 
constitute but one class. 

Cherry Varieties Approved by California Growers 



VARIETY. 



Advance 

Bing 

Bl'k Heart ( B. Bigarreau) 

Burr's Seedling 

Centennial 

Chapman 

Cleveland 

Early Purple Guigne 

Elton 

Knight (Early) 

Lambert 

Lewelling (B. Republican) 

Mezel ** 

Napoleon (Royal Ann) .... 

Nonpariel 

Rockport 

Schmidt 

Spanish (Yellow) 

Tartarian (Black) 

Paul 

Wood (Governor) 



Buttner's Yellow- 
Eugenie 

May Duke 

Morello 

Olivet 

Richmond 







Interior 


Mountain 




Upper 


Central 


valley 


valleys 


Southern 


Coast 


Coast 


and 


and 


California. 


region. 


region. 


foothills. 


plateaux. 





* Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. 
** Most highly commended. 



BIGARREAU AND HEARTS 

Early Lamauric. — Fruit large, dark purple; flesh rich, juicy, excellent. Down- 
ing says a week earlier than Early Purple Guigne. Has proved the earliest 
cherry in the University collection at Berkeley, and in Vacaville district. Not 
fully tested as to regular bearing. 

Guigne Marhrce. — "Fruit medium large, round, skin dark red ; flesh purplish 
red, tender, juicj^ delicate flavor." — GiUct. "A better bearer than Early Purple 
Guigne." — W. W. Smith. 

Baumann's May (Early Black Guigne). — Rather small, deep rich red, becom 
ing rather dark when fully ripe; tender, juicy, tolerably sweet and good. 

Early Purple Guigne. — Small to medium size; purple; tender, juicy, and 
sweet. This variety is considered the earliest good cherry. It is reported a 
shy bearer in some localities, 



CHERRIES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 269 

Belle d'Orleans. — Above medium size, roundish, heart-shaped ; whitish yel- 
low, half covered with pale red. very juicy, sweet and excellent. 

Early White Heart. — Below medium size, rather heart-shaped, skin dull 
whitish yellow, tinged and speckled with pale red in the sun; flesh melting, 
sweet, and pleasant when fully ripe. 

White Tartarian. — Fruit of medium size, obtuse heart-shaped ; skin pale 
yellow ; stalk slender ; flesh whitish yellow ; half tender and very sweet. 

American Heart. — Fruit pretty large, heart-shaped, often nearly four-sided 
and irregular in outline borne in clusters; flesh half tender; skin strong and 
adhering to flesh. 

Werder's Early Black. — An early variety, moderately productive ; tree vigor- 
ous, spreading; fruit large, black, tender, sweet and excellent. 

Knight's Early Black. — "Large, black, tender, juicy, rich, and excellent; high 
flavor; a shy bearer until the trees attain age." 

Rockport Bigarreau. — Large ; pale amber in the shade, light red in the sun ; 
half tender, sweet and good ; a very excellent and handsome cherry ; good 
bearer ; highly esteemed for canning and shipping. 

Coe's Transparent. — Medium size pale amber, red and mottled next the sun ; 
tender, sweet and fine. 

Cleveland Bigarreau. — A thrifty, strong, spreading grower, and productive 
large; clear red and yellow; juicy, sweet, and rich. 

Black Tartarian. — Fruit of the largest size, bright purplish black. Flesh 
purplish, thick, juicy, very rich and delicious. Tree a remarkably vigorous, erect, 
and beautiful grower, and an immense bearer; the best of the black cherries. 

Governor Wood. — Large ; light yellow shaded with bright red ; flesh nearly 
tender, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious ; a vigorous grower and very productive. 

Elton. — Large, pointed; pale yellow, nearly covered with light red; juicy, 
with a rich and luscious flavor ; one of the best. 

Black Eagle. — A very excellent English variety, ripening in June ; large size, 
deep purple, or nearly black ; flesh deep purple, tender, with a rich, high-flavored 
juice. 

American Amber.— ^Fruit medium sized, roundish, heart-shaped; skin thin, 
smooth, light amber ; delicately mottled and overspread with bright red ; flesh 
tender and juicy, but not high flavored. 

Yellow Spanish (Bigarreau Graffion). — Large; pale yellow, with red cheek in 
the sun; flesh firm, juicy, and delicious; one of the best, most beautiful and 
popular of all light-colored cherries. 

Mezel, Monstreuese dc (Great Bigarreau). — A foreign variety of the largest 
size; dark red or quite black; firm and juicy; late. 

Pontiac. — Large; dark purplish red; half tender, juicv, and agreeable. 

Burr's Seedling. — Large; yellow, shaded with red; sweet and rich vigorous 
and great bearer; apparently does better near the coast than in the interior. 

Oxheart. — Fruit large, obtuse, heart-shaped; skin dark red; flesh red, half 
tender, with a pleasant juice of second quality. 

Napoleon Bigarreau (Royal Ann). — A magnificent cherry of the largest size; 
pale yellow, becoming amber in shade, richly dotted and spotted with deep red! 
and with a bright red cheeck; flesh very firm, juicy and sweet. Tree a free 
grower and an enormous bearer. 

Tradescant's Blackheart (Elkhorn, Black Bigarreau). — Large, heart-shaped; 
deep, glossy black; very solid and firm; dark purple, moderately juicy. 

Schmidt's Bigarreau. — "A new German variety lately introduced. The largest 
of all the Black Bigarreau cherries. Skin of a deep black color; flesh dark 
and very juicy, with a fine flavor."' — John Bid-well. 



270 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

DUKES AND MORELLOS 

Early Richmond (Kentish). — An early, red, acid cherry; valuable for cooking 
early in the season. 

Eugenie. — Medium large; heart-shaped; amber red; good quality; early. 

May Duke. — An old, well-known, e.xcellent variety; large, dark red, juicy, 
subacid, rich. 

Arch Duke. — Fruit large, obtuse, heart-shaped; bright red becoming dark; 
flesh light red, melting, juicy, rich, sub-acid flavor, very good; tree more up- 
right and vigorous than May Duke. 

Late Duke. — Fruit large, flattened or obtuse, heart-shaped ; white, mottled 
with red, becoming rich dark red when ripe; flesh yellowish, tender, juicy; hangs 
long on the tree. 

Reine Hortense.— "It is one of the very largest of cherries ; a beautiful, glossy 
red, or deep pink, when fully ripe ; heart-shaped ; a universal bearer, and when 
hanging on the tree no fruit is more beautiful ; excellent for canning, but too 
soft and juicy for shipment.'' — W. W. Smith. 

English Morcllo. — Large, dark red, nearly black; tender, juicy, rich, acid, pro- 
ductive and late. 

Guigne Noir Luisante (Black Spanish). — Fruit imedium size, round, heart- 
shaped, glossy, blackish red; flesh reddish purple, tender, juicy, rich, acid. 

Belle Magnifique. — Fruit large, roundish, inclined to heart-shape; skin a fine 
bright red; flesh juicy, tender, with sprightly sub-acid flavor; one of the best 
of its class; a fine table fruit when fully ripe. 

iJuttncr's Yellozv. — Medium, roundish; clear yellow; firm. late. 

PACIFIC COAST SEEDLINGS 

Lezvelling— Black Republican (Black Oregon).— "Seedling by Seth Lewelling, 
Milwaukee, Oregon, from seed planted in 1860; first fruited in orchard in 1864. 
Widely distributed in California. Large, black, sweet, with purple flesh; ripens 
ten days after Black Tartarian. — James Shinn. "Large, late black cherry, good 
flavor, long keeper ; dries and ships well. Seems to succeed better on foothills 
than i'n the valley." — Robert Williamson. "Supposed to be a cross between Na- 
poleon Bigarreau and Black Tartarian, having the solid flesh of the former and 
the color "of the latter; very late." — John Rock. "I am of the opinion that the 
Black Republican and Lincoln came from the seed of the Black Eagle, but I 
have little idea of what variety they were crossed w\th."—Seth Lewelling. 

^ino, Originated by Seth Lewelling, from seed of Black Republican. "Fruit 

large, dark brown or black, very fine, late ; a good shipping variety." — Seth Lewel- 
lin". ' Tree vigorous, and foliage heavy. Fruit ripens so that trees can be 
cleaned at one picking. 

Centennial. — A seedling of Napoleon Bigarreau, raised by Mr. Henry Chap- 
man, in Napa Valley, and fruited by him for the first time in 1876. Propagated 
and introduced by Leonard Coates, then of Napa, in 1885. It is larger than its 
parent, more oblate in form, and beautifully marbled and splashed with crim- 
son on a Dale yellow ground; exceptionally sweet and of remarkable keeping 
quality. Described by Committee of American Pomological Society (1885) as 
follows: "Size large, slightly oblate; amber, with dark crimson marbling; flesh, 
firm, sweet, and rich; quality best; condition excellent (after crossing conti- 
nent by mail), showing its good shipping qualities." The Centennial has been 
little planted recently, because of superiority of Royal Ann. 

California Advance. — Originated by W. H. Chapman of Napa, propagated 
by Leonard Coates, then of Napa. Seedling of Early Purple Guigne, ripens 
one week earler than its parent ; is larger and more obtuse, rounded form, and 
said to be a heavier bearer ; dark purple turning black ; rich and sweet, and of 
good degree of firmness. 

The Oregon. — Seedling of Napoleon Bigarreau, by H. W. Prettyman, of 
East Portland, and named by Oregon State Horticultural Society in 1888; de- 



pacii'k: coast ciierriks 271 

scribed as larger than Napoleon; firm; dark red; "lit to eat earlier than Napo- 
leon, but coming to full maturity somewhat later." Introduced in 1888 by W. 
S. Failing. Portland. 

Lambert. — Seedling of J. H. Lambert, ^lilwaukee. Oregon, 1887; presented 
to Oregon State Horticultural Society : right to propagate sold to Oregon Nur- 
sery Co., 1896. and introduced by this company ; very large, roundish, heart- 
shaped ; stem long, slender, suture medium depth, acid ; smooth, glossy, dark 
purplish; red flesh dark purplish red, firm, flavor rich, quality good. Ripens 
ten days to two weeks after Black Tartarian. 

Andrews. — Fruited French seedling about 18% by C. N. Andrews, Redlands. 
Grown in mountain valley near Redlands. Apparently a fine shipping variety 
locally named after the grower. 

Paul. — Found by E. V. D. Paul of L'kiah on place purchased by him and pre- 
vious owner could not account for its presence. Very large, black, mottled with 
dark red ; late ; remarkable shipping endurance demonstrated ; diploma at Oregon 
Cherry Fair, 1907. Propagated and introduced bv Leonard Coates Co., Morgan 
Hill, California, 1908. 

Nonpareil. — Originated at Vaca Orchard ; a fine, black, shipping cherry, owned 
by Earl Fruit Company at Vacaville and not distributed. 

Early Biirbank. — Originated by Luther Burbank ; a seedling of Early Purnle 
Guigne and sold in 1903 to a group of Vacaville growers who control it. Very 
early, earlier than its parent variety. Large, rich deep crimson, resembling 
Black Tartarian in quality. Tree medium upright grower, large leaves, prolific. 

Oregon has been prolific in originating new varieties of the 

cherry which are locally popular, but only a few have established 

themselves in California. 



CHAPTER XX 
THE PEACH 

Until the great prune planting passion of the decade ago the 
peach was the greatest deciduous fruit of California judged by the 
total number of trees in service. When the boom impression 
went forth that cured prunes could be put up in sacks more cheaply 
than wheat, people took to planting prune orchards by the section 
all through the wheat districts of the great valley, and boom 
planters even carried the trees where no one would think of plant- 
ing wheat — cutting up shallow-clay upland sheep pastures and 
even yucca sand wastes into prune-growing colonies. Under such 
planting propositions it is little wonder our nurseries sold prune 
trees for twice the normal prices and still could not fill the demand. 
Figures of prune trees in orchards rushed far beyond the peach 
figures. This over-planting of prunes naturally brought loss and 
disappointment, and interest turned again to peach planting, so 
that now the peach has secured notable advance beyond the prune, 
as shown by statistics in Chapter VI. During the last three years 
the peach has had the call, the nurseries have had difficulty in 
keeping' up with the planting demand for certain varieties, which 
will be discussed later, and the peach has demonstrated its right 
to attain again its old position by possession of a greater acreage 
than is given to any other deciduous fruit. 

The peach was the first fruit to ripen on the improved trees 
brovight here by the early American settlers, and the magnificence 
of the peach was consequently the key-note of the refrain which 
greeted the ears of the world in which the California gold cry was 
ringing early in the fifties. In fact, the gold from the mine and the 
gold from the tree were very nearly related. In old Coloma, where 
gold was discovered, there was a peach tree which bore four hundred 
and fifty peaches in 1854, which sold for $3.00 each, or $1,350 for the 
crop of the one tree, and in 1855, six trees bore one thousand one hun- 
dred peaches, which sold for $1.00 each. Some of these pioneer trees 
are said to be still living and bearing fruit. 



LONGEVITY OF THE PEACH IN CALIFORNIA 

There are many other facts to establish the claim that the peach 
tree, if planted in a suitable soil and situation and cared for with 
any devotion and skill, is not a short-lived tree in California. Califor- 
nia is too young to mark the limits of its duration, but there are in- 
stances in the earliest-settled places in the State, where peach trees 

272 



L()\(;k\itv of the peacM 273 

above fifty years old are still vigorous and productive. Some trees 
have, in fact, gone along in thrift until they have a bark below which . 
looks like that of a forest tree, and framework of main branches 
sound and stalwart throughout because they have never been allowed 
to sunburn until protected by their own roughness, and have never 
been pruned with an axe, and never lost a limb nor had a wound into 
which decay could penetrate and descend to the root. When the peach 
has a fair chance in its aerial parts and is in a soil which favors health 
of the roots, it shows itself to be very long-lived in California. When 
trees break to pieces and show decay wounds, they are in bad places, 
and have suffered through natural stress or have been weakened by 
cultural errors. 

In favorable soils the peach is stronger and longer lived in the 
root than in the top, and sometimes triumphs over neglect by discard- 
ing its old, wind-broked, sun-burned and bark-bound branches, and 
forms a new head of its own. Such renewal is sometimes very rapid. 
In the interior valley new shoots on a cut-back Muir tree have grown 
twelve feet in one season, with a thickness of one and one-half inches 
at the base. Such shoots will bear the following summer. It is through 
this disposition to renewal of good wood that the intelligent system of 
pruning which is now prevalent, ministers to the longevity as well as 
the profitability of the tree, aiding it to constantly renew its youth by 
restraining its exuberance, and at the same time furnishing it sound 
new wood on which to grow its fruits and foliage. But while these 
are facts, there is some difference of opinion as to the point at which 
an old tree becomes less valuable than a young one. Along the Sacra- 
mento River some count about a dozen good crops as the limit, and 
thus replace the trees when about fifteen years of age. This is a point 
which may vary greatly, according to local conditions. 

Early Productiveness. — Quite as important as the longevity of 
the peach tree are the facts of its rapid growth and early produc- 
tiveness. It is the first of our fruit trees to attain size and yield 
a profitable crop. In localities best suited to its growth it will 
mature some fruit the second summer in the orchard if the small 
shoots are not pruned away from the main branches, and during 
the third summer averages of forty to fifty pounds per tree have 
been secured from considerable acreages. These facts are stated 
to show what the peach of good variety may do in a good situation 
and soil and with the best of care. Of course they are not to be 
taken as average results, although greater than those given are 
sometimes attained. For example, on the rich, alluvial land near 
Visalia, an Admiral Dew-ey yearling tree planted in March 1904, 
had in October, 1905, attained these dimensions : Near the ground 
the trunk was eleven and three-quarter inches in circumference, 
branching tw^o feet from the ground it had four main branches. 



274 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

each seven inches in circumference; hei.i^ht of tree, twelve feet; 
spread of branches, ten feet. It grew near a crack in a cement ditch 
and so had all the moisture it could use. and being in a free, open 
soil was not impaired by standing water. 

As for possible productiveness of the peach, one Susquehanna 
tree in Kern county yielded twenty-seven forty-five pound picking- 
boxes — twelve hundred and fifty pounds in one crop — about four 
times aS much as good trees may average. 



LOCALITIES FOR THE PEACH 

The peach has a wide range in California, and finds many dis- 
tricts suited to it in the several ways in which the trade delights 
in it. As compared with the apricot, the peach thrives in the 
sheltered valleys of the district north of the bay and west of the 
Coast Range, in which the apricot is of little commercial moment ; 
it yields those peerlessly beautiful "mountain peaches" from one 
to two thousand feet higher in the Sierra foothills than the apricot 
can be trusted ; it goes everywhere in the lower foothills and over 
the great valleys that the apricot will go, and beyond it also, be- 
cause it is less restless in the spring and escapes some frosts which 
injure apricots. Counted from trees in orchard the peach is about 
three times as great as the apricot. 

Nearly every county in California reports the possession of 
peach trees. Above an elevation of four thousand feet on the sides 
of the Sierra Nevada, they may be subject to winter killing, and 
lower still the careful choice of situation has to be made to avoid 
frosts at blooming time — the peach in such places being subjected 
to some dangers which beset it in the eastern States. Below these 
points, however, lies the great fruit belt of the foothills of the 
Sierra, where the peach is the chief fruit grown and its excellence 
is proverbial. Size, beauty, richness, delicacy of flavor and firnniess, 
which endures carriage to the most distant markets, are all charac- 
teristics of the foothill peaches of California. 

In the great interior valleys of the State wherever proper con- 
dition of soil and water supply can be found, the peach also thrives, 
the tree making a wonderfully quick and large growth, and the fruit 
attaining great size. The San Joaquin A'alley is the greatest peach 
district in the State. 

In the small valleys on the west of the great valley and on the 
eastern slopes of the Coast Range, there are also extensive areas 
suited to the peach, and sheltered places on the eastern and western 
edges of the Sacramento Valley have produced the earliest fruit 
for a long series of years. Recently the contest for the earliest fruit 



SITUATIONS FOR THE PEACH 275 

of these districts, with the foothill district on the east side of the 
Sacramento \^alley and special locations in the upper San Joaquin 
\'alley, has been quite close. 

• In the coast valleys, opening upon San I'^rancisco ]>ay and the 
Pacific Ocean, the peach is also a leading fruit. Its success is great- 
est, however, where good shelter is had from direct coast influences. 
Even where open to these influences, good peaches can be grown 
by choosing the smaller range of varieties, which do well by pro- 
tecting the trees from harsh winds, and by seeking elevation above 
depressed valleys, whose frosts are frequent. The occurrence of 
ciirl-leaf is a factor of much importance, which will be considered 
presently. In the coast counties north of the Russian River Valley 
the danger to the peach from unfavorable atmospheric conditions 
increases as one goes northward, and situations must be chosen 
with greater care. And yet by such exercise of care, peaches for 
home use and local markets can be successfully grown. 

South of San I'rancisco P>ay the coast influences soften as you 
proceed southward, and the peach draws nearer to the ocean, choos- 
ing, however, elevations and avoiding broad, wind-swept areas and 
narrow defiles where drafts and fogs are frequent. At considerable 
elevations, as on the Santa Cruz Mountains, some varieties of 
peaches are notably excellent. The general rule holds with the 
peach, as with other fruits, that coast influences retard ripening 
and the season of the fruit is late. 

In some valleys and at elevations in southern California the 
peach is largely grown and high excellence attained while on the 
mesas and plains there is often too high a temperature which starts 
growth out of season and follows with a dormancy and die-back 
when the tree ought to be most active. It has recently been demon- 
strated that varieties like Lukens' Honey, descended from the 
I'een-to or flat peach of China, resists such irregularities better than 
the common sorts which are largely of Persian origin. 



SOILS AND EXPOSURES EOR THE PEACH 

Though the suitability of soils for the peach can be somewhat 
extended b}^ the choice of stock for budding upon, as will be con- 
sidered presently, its range of soils is narrower than that of the 
apricot. The best peach soils are light, deep, sandy loams, rather 
dry than moist, but under all circumstances well drained. It will 
thrive on land with a considerable mixture of coarse sand or gravel, 
providing it contains also needed elements of fertility ; for the rapid 
growth and heavy fruitage of the peach requires abundant nutri- 
tion. Though it accepts coarse materials both in soil and subsoil, 



276 CAI.II-ORNIA FRISTS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ii iclislies fine scdinicnl and perhaps Hnds no more congenial loca- 
tinn than in the deep, sandy loam, or sedimentary deposit border- 
ing the creek beds of om- warm valleys, and will send its roots 
deep to secure long life and abundant fruitage. Such soils, whether 
along existing streams or deposited by prehistoric water courses, 
which have left their mark by the elevated ridges of rich sediment 
above the prevailing valley soils, are warm, deep, and thoroughly 
drained, and delight the peach. Peaches are grown very success- 
fully on what is called hardpan in some parts of Fresno County, 
providing the hardpan is blasted as described in Chapter XI. In 
these situations the hardpan is near the surface and has a deep 
free soil below it into which the roots can extend. 

At elevations on the hillsides there are free loams which result 
from decomposition of the underlying rocks, and on them the peach 
thrives, both where the soils themselves are deep and where the 
underlying rock is loose and open, permeable by roots and afford- 
ing escape for water. Success has been reported even when holes 
are partly excavated in these rotten rocks, as in the soft sand rock 
on the hills east of Vaca Valley, or in the broken chalk rock in 
what is called Blackburn Gulch, near Santa Cruz. The superior 
warmth of such soils is supposed to minister to earlier ripening 
of the fruit, though the escape from cold air by elevation is no doubt 
a greater factor to the end. 

The influence of comparatively slight difference in elevation is 
very marked. E. R. Thurber, of Pleasant Valley, Solano County, 
had for many years a plat of peach trees on a natural terrace about 
seventy-five feet higher than the general level of his orchard. On 
the terrace peaches ripen and are disposed of before the same 
varieties ripen in the orchard below. 

As in the valley a short distance to water is to be avoided, so 
on the hills too great percolation from higher levels is undfesirable. 
Of course, natural defects of this kind can be corrected by ade- 
quate under-drainage. 

Still, though such be the general soil conditions best suited to 
the peach, the tree can be well grown for home use or local markets 
on somewhat heavier soil, providing there is good drainage, but 
drainage must be insisted upon, for thousands of trees have per- 
ished because planted in retentive soils without drainage. Alkaline 
soils which are usually rather heavy should, however, be avoided 
as the peach, when grown on its own roots, seems to be of all 
fruits most sensitive to alkali. 

As to exposures for the peach the same rules hold as for other 
fruits which are liable to injury when in bloom or young foliage. 
• Thus low places where cold air settles should be avoided, also low 
gulches through which cold drafts prevail. In frosty situations an 
incline away from the morning sun will often allow the trees to 
escape serious injury. 



GROWING PEACH TREES 277 

PROPAGATION AND PLANTING 

The chapter on propagation gives the general method of grow- 
ing and budding peach seedlings. In selecting pits, preference is 
usually given to those from strong-growing, yellow peaches, at 
least for working on the same colored fruit, while others use pits 
of the ]\Iorris White, others the Straw-berry, and others still will 
use only pits from vigorous seedling trees. In this State the 
peach is usually so healthy and vigorous, and the "yellows" not 
known, and less care may be needed in selecting pits ; still, there is 
certainly nothing lost by making every effort for a good stock. 

The hard-shell sweet almond has long l)ecn used as a stock for 
the peach. It is held that it gives a hardier, stronger root, in dry 
soils especially. 

When it is desired to grow the ])each on moister soil than suits 
its own roots, the St. Julian plum may be used. The Myrobalan 
has been used to some extent, but experience generally does not 
favor any plum stock for the peach and our largest propagators 
have abandoned its use. 

The so-called "peach-almond" has often been urged as a stock 
for the peach but has been little used, probably because the straight 
peach and straight almond are so satisfactory and available. It 
is a fruit having the pit of a peach but the pericarp of an almond, 
that is tough and tasteless and disposed to split like an almond 
hull. Early in the fifties a chance hybrid of this sort appeared in 
the nursery of W. B. West, of Stockton, and its pits were used for 
nursery seedlings which, when budded to the peach, produced good 
trees. Trees bearing the peach-almond are found here and there 
over the State. \lv. Burbank has produced a hybrid of the Wager 
]ieach and the Languedoc almond. 

Distance in Orchard. — Distance observed in planting peach 
orchards differs greatly, according to the views of different grow- 
ers. Regarding the peach as a catch crop to plant between apricot, 
pear, cherry, walnut, fig or other slower-growing, larger trees, the 
trees may be set comparatively close ; that- is, with the latter trees 
at thirty to forty feet, and alternate rows of peach planted quin- 
cunx, and to be removed at the end of ten to fifteen years. If the 
peach is to have the ground to itself, some planters plant at 
eighteen feet in equilateral triangles, or twenty to twenty-four 
feet on the squares, the present tendency of the peach, as with other 
trees, being to gi\e more room than was the custom a few years ago. 

Age of Trees. — In planting peach orchards yearling trees are 
generally used, although far more are planted in dormant bud 
than of any other kind of fruit trees. The reason for this is easily 
found in the disposition of the j^each lo make a tree the first year 



278 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

from the bud. It springs almost at once into a full outfit of lat- 
erals. Some growers employ this disposition to form a head the 
first year in the nursery. \\'hen the bud has grown out eighteen 
inches, pinch it off at the top and force out laterals, which make 
long growth the same season. When planted out in orchard the 
following winter, cut back to ten or twelve inches. In this any 
one can get a yearling with the equivalent of a two-year-old head 
on it. The common practice is, however, to let the growth from 
the bud proceed as it chooses, and when the yearling is set in 
orchard, cut back to a single bud the laterals which are desired 
to form the head and removing others. If there is a dormant bud 
on the stem where a branch is desired and it is obstinate in not 
starting, a cross-cut through the bark just above it may concen- 
trate pressure and force it out. The development of form from a 
yearling branched in the nursery is illustrated in chapter on prun- 
ing. 

Recently preference has arisen for smaller trees for transplant- 
ing and, especially in the foothills, June buds, described in the chap- 
ter on propagation, are largely employed. 

Planting Dormant Buds. — The chapter on planting describes 
the planting of yearling trees. The lifting of dormant buds from 
the home nursery and planting in orchard is described by P. W. 
Butler, of Placer County, as follows : 

Have the ground prepared and stakes placed in position in the orchard in 
early February, if possible, and begin the planting at once, while the trees are 
in dormant bud. Take no more trees from the nursery than can be planted in 
half a day. Plow a furrow on each side of the row, six inches from the trees, 
turning the soil from them, then two men with heavy spades or shovels, one on 
each side of the tree, can readily take it up without breaking many of the roots ; 
and what are so broken should be smoothly trimmed with a sharp knife. Place 
the trees in a tub of water, near where they are to be planted, and take them 
from it only a few at a time. Put them in a basket or box and cover with wet 
sack, that they may be kept moist until placed in the ground. 

On planting, place the bud one inch below the level of the ground, but do 
not cover it until after it has grown to the height of a few inches. The stock 
should be cut off at the bud with a thin, sharp knife (and not with shears, as is 
often done, as the latter method will sometimes split tlie tree), when it wlil take 
in moisture and not heal readily. 

Some growers do not cut back the young seedling tree until 
growth has started out well on the dormant bud. 

Rather more care is needed in handling dormant buds both in 
planting and in their young life in the orchard. Lookout must 
be kept for suckers and against injury in cultivation. Success with 
dormant buds is notable. In good hands they commonly out- 
grow yearlings planted at the same time, and the percentage of 
loss from failure of the bud to start is very small. Of course, 
every bud should be examined before planting, to see that it has a 
healthy color. 



SHAPING THE PEACH TREE 279 

In the selection of peach trees for planting, a clean, healthy 
root only should be taken. During recent years there have been 
a good many young roots affected with knots or swellings from 
some obscure cause. Such trees should be burned. If planted, 
the knot sometimes grows to an enormous size and little or no top 
growth is made. 

PRUNING THE PEACH 

As has already been stated, the peach will carry a top of great 
fruiting longevity if the grower will do justice to the tree by reg- 
ular shortening of the growth and forcing out new wood, upon 
which alone fruit is found. Not only does regular pruning do this, 
l)ut it promotes longevity and vigor in the framework of the tree 
upon which these bearing shoots come. Left unpruned, the peach 
soon becomes bark-bound, and the bark itself becomes hardened 
and brittle. Lower shoots are apt to give out, and the tree becomes 
an umbrella of foliage and fruit held aloft by bare branches bark- 
burned by the sun, invaded by borers, exuding gum, covered with 
moss and lichens — a picture of distress and unprofitability because 
its owner does not give the tree a chance to re-invigorate itself 
with large fresh leaves from the new wood which alone can carry 
them. 

As has been advised for other trees, the peach should be given 
a low head, developed as described in the chapter on pruning. In 
its after-treatment, it has been the universal experience that con- 
stant "heading-in" is essential to the strength and health of the 
tree. This also has been considered in an earlier chapter. Illus- 
trations of the pertinence of these remarks are found in the practice 
of the most successful peach growers in all parts of the State. A 
few instances will be given : 

"The peach, fruiting onlj' on wood of the previous year's growth, bears fruit 
farther away from the body of the tree each year, and the small shoots of from 
one-eighth to three-sixteenths in diameter begin to decHne when the fruit is re- 
moved. To have healthy growtli, all of these small branches must be removed 
the first winter following their fruiting, when there is a greater tendency to 
form small new growths, which may fruit the following season. In the peach, 
it will seldom be found necessary to remove any interior branches, except suck- 
ers, until they have produced a crop, when they will begin to decline and 
should be removed. 

"I would certainly not cut peach trees back less than one-half of the new 
growth in the winter pruning, and our trees are getting too large for their age 
even with that amount of pruning. This has suggested, in other localities, sum- 
mer pruning or shortening in, with success in some places. So far my own ex- 
perience is favorable. It will be noticed on trees kept growing rapidly that the 
fruit buds are near the ends of the shoots, and it seems to take away too manv 
of these buds to cut back one-half in the winter pruning, but by cutting back 
about one-half the new growth in August, fruit buds are developed lower down, 
and where they would not be developed without the summer pruning." — H. Cul- 
bcrtsou, El Cajon, San Diego County. 




■K* 




u 







280 



THINNING PEACHES 281 

"Prune the peach every year, cutting back and thinning out the center, using 
great care not to cut out too many of the Httle fruit shoots of new wood grow- 
ing on the main branches, but removing the slender branches of the old wood, 
leaving as many branches of the new growth as the tree will support. In this 
case judgment must be used as to what the tree will support. The soil 
may be wet or dry, rich or poor, the grower must be the judge. To grow 
small fruit, prune lightly; to grow large fruit, prune with care and judgment. 
To get this judgment you must have some practical experience. I prefer doing 
the work when the sap begins moving in the spring of the year. All cuts heal 
over better then and the pruner can see how the buds are setting and use his 
own judgment as to how much wood he wants cut out." — R. C. Kclls, Yuba 
City, Slitter County. 

"Cutting back the peach must be more severe, as the growth of the new wood 
diminishes. Not more than five or six fruit buds should be left on a shoot, 
and if the fruit all sets, it must be also thinned. The trees should be trained 
low and their vigor encouraged by permitting a reasonable amount of young 
shoots to grow around the lower part of the main limbs. When this method 
is continued systematically every season, the trees will bear large crops of fruit, 
of good quality, for many years. When they are allowed to overbear for one 
or two seasons, the fruit will decrease in size, and soon become almost worth- 
less ; the trees will be enfeebled, and in consequence very liable to be attacked 
by disease. The only thing to be done in this case is to cut off the whole top 
of the tree, allowing it to form a new head. I have seen old peach orchards 
thus renovated, and the results are often very flattering, but it is far better 
not to allow them to get into a condition where this desperate remedy is neces- 
sary." — Leonard Coatcs, Morgan Hill. 

Cutting Back the Peach Is not Shearing.^ — Some undertake the 
annual pruning- of the peach by a shearing- process, treating a fruit 
tree as one would a hedge — cutting everything to a line. There 
has been a good deal of this done in California, but it is wrong 
nevertheless. Shortening in the new growth of the peach each 
year is a proper practice. It is the first step toward preventing over- 
bearing of small, unmarketable fruit and saving the tree from 
profitless and injurious effort. Thinning the shoots by removing 
all but one when two or three start from the same point is also 
working toward large fruit and regular bearing in the tree. This 
shortening and thinning of the new wood must also be followed 
by thinning of the young fruit just after the natural drop and it is 
seen that the tree carries too many. Proper pruning can not be 
done by shearing because it is apt to shorten the strong shoots 
too much and the weak shoots too little. Each shoot must be 
cut by itself according to its growth and its ability to carry more 
or less fruit. Shearing, too, does not thin out the shoots but con- 
tinually multiplies them until the tree is full of brush as a hedge. 



THINNING PEACHES 

Thinning out fruit on the peach tree is not only the secret of 
obtaining good, marketable fruit, but joins hands with pruning in 
preserving the health and future production of the tree. The 
importance of thinning has been urged in a previous chapter, but 
the following is a very strong statement, by Mr. Culbertson : 



282 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: PIOW TO GROW THEM 

In my own experience there is no single operation in connection with fruit 
growing of more importance than thinning. The past season, in order to test the 
ditTerence in expense of preparing large and small peaches for drying, I timed 
the cutting, and found it took double the time ; hence, double the expense, which 
meant a difference of about $15 per ton of dried fruit. Add to this a difference 
of two cents per pound in price makes $55 per ton. Suppose an orchard under 
good treatment produces a ton of peaches to the acre, then $55 would represent 
the difference in profits. Unthinned or small fruit is certainly undesirable. 

As to how much thinning should be done there are diverse opinions. Some 
take off one-half, others three-fourths. Some growers thin to meet a certain 
ideal, but find it difficult to explain in words. The common rule of leaving a 
specimen of fruit every four or six inches is a safe rule ; that means many 
must come off. Different conditions of soils, climates, and irrigation vary the 
amount to thin out, more or less. More may be left where the tree is on land 
giving a strong, vigorous growth. 

In thinning peaches I have been practicing a method that gives good results 
and is easily learned. The peach bears on three sizes of branches, that are one- 
eighth, three-sixteenths, and one-fourth of an inch in diameter. The first has 
two peaches, the second three, and the third four; this, of course, after there has 
been a judicious course of pruning and the trees under, irrigation ; trees on dry 
land should have only one-half as many left. To reach this result often a dozen 
may have to come off, allowing only two to remain. The more there are the 
greater necessity for thinning. 

The time for thinning peaches is as soon as one can be sure which are likely 
to remain on the tree and which will drop of their own accord. 

IRRIGATION OF THE PEACH 

As the peach is the greatest deciduous fruit of the interior val- 
leys and foothills, it is also the deciduous fruit which is chiefly 
grown with irrigation. Most of the specific conclusions set forth 
in Chapter XV are based upon experience with the peach and the 
reader is advised to consider them from that point of view. One 
of the most important points of success in irrigating the peach is 
to use enough water earlier in its growth so that application need 
not be made within about three weeks of ripening. Enough water 
before that will usually insure size on properly thinned trees and 
the withholding of water near ripening will secure good quality. 
After the crop is gathered, irrigation can be resumed to continue 
the late summer growth for next year's fruit buds and to save the 
tree from injury during the long autumn drouth. 

WORKING OVER PEACH TREES 

The fashion in peaches changes from time to time according to 
the demands of the canners or the market for dried fruit. The 
grower often finds varieties which he first selected, less healthy, 
less productive, or, for other reason, less desirable than others 
There is, therefore, often occasion for working over trees. Bud- 
ding is often resorted to, buds being successfully set in quite old 
wood, providing buds from well-matured wood are taken. Wood 
buds from young trees unaccompanied by fruit are best, but 
because of greater certainty of securing the variety desired, it is 
common to take wood and fruit buds together from bearing trees. 



GRAFTING THE PEACIt 283 

A larger cut of bud and adjacent bark is taken when working in 
old bark than for use on seedlings. \\'hen a branch is budded, it 
is sometimes broken at a distance beyond the bud and allowed to 
hang, the idea being to furnish the bud some but not too much sap. 
Some growers thus bud and break part of the branches, allowing 
others to remain unworked, to maintain the growing processes of 
the tree. These branches and those in which buds have not taken, 
are cut off and grafted the following spring. The almond is suc- 
cessfully grafted over with the peach, and this course has been 
followed with thousands of unproductive almonds. 

Grafting the Peach. — Grafting the peach by the ordinary top- 
grafting with a cleft graft seldom succeeds. A side graft with 
saw and knife is better. It is described by J. W. Mills, formerly of 
the University Branch Experiment Stations, in southern California 
as follows : 

Saw grafting is rapidly taking the place of cleft grafting, for it does away 
with ail difficulties arising from splitting, and there is no cavity left in the heart 
of the limh or tree. The process is to saw oflF the limb at the desired place as in 
cleft grafting, then saw across the corner and down the side at an angle of about 
45 degrees and trim out with a sharp knife. Place the knife blade a little to one 
side of the saw cut, a little farther from the edge at the top than at the bottom, 
and by pressing on the knife the whole sides of the crevice will be trimmed 
smoothly at one stroke; this operation repeated on the other side of the saw cut 
will make a neat notch in the end of a solid limb. By cutting a little deeper 
from the saw cut at the top than at the bottom, and if the amateur does not trim 
his scion at the right angle, he can insert it gently in the crevice or notch and 
see just where to trim. If he is so slow that the fresh cut shows signs of dis- 
coloration, he can make a fresh surface by placing his knife parallel to the edges 
and shaving off a thin slice. He still retains the same angle, but the scion will 
set a little deeper, which is no objection. By cutting a thin layer off the top of 
the stump next to the notch will show exactly where the inside layer of bark is. 
The inside of the scion must be even with the inside layer of the bark of the 
stump or limb that is being grafted. If the scion is inclined slightly out or in at 
the top, it will make a correct union at some point and be sure to grow. If the 
inclination is very slight the union will extend over considerable length, and 
will make a much better start than if the union is at only one point, owing to 
the enlarged surface through which the sap is transmitted. One of the most 
important points in grafting is to have good wax and go over the grafts a feu- 
days after they are put in and rewax them. 

DISEASES OF THE PEACH 

Curl-Leaf. — The most prevalent trouble with the peach tree in 
California is the curl-leaf. It was noticed from the first planting 
of peach trees by Americans, nearly sixty years ago, and free con- 
jecture as to its cause was indulged in until it was shown to be 
a specific fungus, and its prevention by washes of fungicidal 
character demonstrated. The treatment will be decribed in the chap- 
ter on tree diseases. The facts of its occurrence may be stated as 
follows : 

Curl-leaf is much more prevalent in some sections than others, 
and in one place than another in the same section, and some sec- 



284 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

tions are practically free from it. Some varieties are much more 
subject to curl-leaf than others; generally speaking, some curl 
nearly everywhere, others curl in one place and not in another, 
others are practically free from curl in all situations. 

Curl-leaf occurs in various degrees. Mild cases do not seem 
to injure either tree or fruit; severe cases destroy the fruit and 
sometimes the tree itself. The disease is almost always at its 
height when the young fruit is about the size of small peas. If the 
curl is "bad," the fruit will fall to the ground, there not being 
healthy leaves enough to afford the required support. If, however, 
the curl is moderate and partial, only a part and sometimes none 
of the fruit will be lost. The disease, as is well known, is of brief 
duration, say twelve to twenty days, after which the trees resume 
a healthy appearance in every respect, and if the fruit has been 
able to survive the ordeal, it also appears to grow and become as 
perfect as if no check had been given to its growth. But it is 
better to save the tree the burden of a new foliage growth. 

Mildew. — This disease, which occurs in the form of whitish 
felted patches on leaf and twig early in the spring, and finally 
affects the fruit, has long been troublesome in this State, and occurs 
on certain susceptible varieties in many localities from the coast 
to the Sierra foothills. Observation in this State has fully affirmed 
the statement of Downing, that the serrate, glandless-leaved va- 
rieties are liable, and those with good glands on the leaf stems are 
free. 

The conclusion would be that where mildew prevails, varieties 
with serrate, glandless leaves should be avoided. But it has been 
found that some glandless-leaved varieties, although subject to 
mildewy resist curl-leaf. Therefore it may be worth while to com- 
bat the mildew. This has been done effectually by treatment which 
will be described in a later chapter. 

As with curl-leaf, mildew is prevalent some years and slight in 
others. 

The most serious disease which has thus far stricken the peach 
in California is locally known as the "peach blight," the work of 
a shot-hole fungus (coryncum). This also has been satisfactorily 
checked by spraying as will be described in the Chapter on Dis- 
eases of Trees and Vines. 

A common trouble of the peach known as "split-pit," has re- 
cently been studied by the California Experiment Station and the 
tentative conclusion has been reached that split-pits are physio- 
logical phenomena and not caused by disease germ. Whether this 
abnormal growth is due to weakness of variety or to cultural con- 
ditions is not determined. It is true that varieties differ in amount 
of splitting, and selection is being made to some extent on that 
basis. 



LEADING CALIFORXIA VARIETIES 



285 



Peach Varieties Approved by California Growers. 



* 



** 









** 
** 



Southern 
California. 



' Upper Central Interior Mountain 

VARIETIES. coast coast valley and valley 

valleys. valleys. foothill. region. 

Alexander * * ** * 

Amsden 

Albright 

Bergen 

Bilyeu 

Briggs's May * 

California Cling 

Decker 

Early Charlotte * 

Early Crawford ** 

Early York 

Elberta * 

Foster * 

George Fourth 

George's Late Cling 

Gen. Bidwell 

Globe * 

Golden Cling (Sellers) 

Hale's Early * 

Heath Cling 

Henrietta ( Levy's ) 

Honest Abe 

Honey CLukens') 

Imperial * 

Indian Blood 

Jones's Large Ivirly 

La Grange 

Late Crawford * 

Lemon Cling 

Lovell 

McDevitt Cling 

McClish Cling * 

McKevitt Cling 

Mary's Choice 

Morris's White 

Muir ** 

Newhall 

Nicholl's Cling * 

Oldmixon Free 

Orange Cling * 

Peen-to 

Persian Cling 

Phillips's Cling * 

Piquet's Late 

Runyon's Orange Cling ... * 

Salway 

Smock 

Snow 

St. John 

Strawberry 

Stump 

Susquehanna 

Triumph 

Tuskena (Tuscan) * 

Wheatland 

Wylie Cling * 

Yellow Tuscany . . . . . . ^^^_ .^. 

* Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. 
**Most highly commended. 






*:(= 
** 



286 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



VARIETIES OF THE PEACH 

Nearly all varieties of the peach have been tried in California, 
and. as with other fruits, it has been found that varieties must be 
chosen with reference to their success in special locations. Choice 
has also to be made according to the purpose of the grower, whether 
for early marketing, for sale to canners, for drying, or distant ship- 
ment or for late marketing. As with apples, there is little use of 
planting early varieties (unless it be for home or local use) except 
in very early regions. An early peach from a late region is killed 
by competition with better middle season sorts from the earlier 
regions. 

Dates of Ripening of Leading Varieties. — The relative ripening 
of a large number of peach varieties, as noted at the University 
Experiment Station, at Pomona, will be useful to planters in deter- 
mining proper succession of varieties, although of course the exact 
dates will not widely apply. 

VARIETY First Flower Full Flower Ripe 

Briggs' Red May Z^Iarch 4 March 24 June 16 

Amsden's June March 8 March 25 June 17 

Alexander March 17 March 31 June 17 

Large Early York March 4 March 18 Julv 15 

Yellow St. John March 4 March 12 Julv 17 

Crawford's Early March 2 Alarch 15 Julv 21 

Foster March 4 March 15 July 21 

Oldmixon Free March 7 March 18 July 25 

]\Iorris White March 4 March 15 Aug. 3 

Aluir March 8 March 23 Aug. 5 

Susquehanna March 4 March 14 Aug. 5 

Crawford's Late March 2 March 14 Aug. 8 

Newhall March 4 March 14 Aug. 8 

Runyon's Orange Cling March 2 March 14 Aug. 8 

California Cling March 2 March 16 Aug. 12 

Stump of the World March 2 March 16 Aug. 12 

Lovell Feb. 28 March 9 Aug. 13 

Nichols's Orange Cling March 4 ]\Iarch 14 Aug. 14 

Seller's Cling March 2 March 14 Aug. 14 

McDevitt's Cling March 2 March 18 Aug. 16 

McKevitt's Cling March 2 March 19 Aug. 19 

Wilkins's Cling ^^larch 3 March 14 Aug. 20 

Indian Blood :March 5 March 25 Aug. 20 

Yellow Tuscany Cling March 5 March 19 Aug. 21 

Lemon Cling March 14 April 1 Aug. 21 

Smock's Late Free March 4 March 18 Aug. 28 

Picquet's Late March 5 ^ilarch 18 Sept. 1 

Staley's California March 2 :\'Iarch 15 Sept. 6 

Henrietta (Levy's) March 6 March 15 Sept. 15 

Heath's Cling March 7 March 14 Sept. 15 

Salway March 7 March 9 Sept. 18 



In an early region one can plant early, middle, and late varieties 
to advantage, and thus secure a very long-fruiting season. The 
peach season in interior districts begins at the first of June with 
the Alexander, and continues to the end of November with local 



DESCRIPTIONS OF PEACHES 287 

seedlings — giving six months of peaches. Of course, the very early 
and very late sorts are only of use for marketing as table fruit. 
The most important series is a fine succession of mid-season peaches 
suitable either for canning, drying, or distant shii)ment. Such a 
selection can be made from the tables and descriptions which will 
be given later. 

Color is a most important item in the peach. W hilc canners 
and Eastern shippers use the beautiful white peaches to advantage, 
the fashion for canning and drying is now strong in support of the 
yellow-fleshed clingstone varieties. The yellow freestone peaches 
arc also in greatest demand. The color about the pit is also an 
important point. Canners demand a peach, whether white or yel- 
low, which is almost free from color at the pit. l^ecause the extrac- 
tion of the red color dyes the juice; in drying, the demand just now 
is for a yellow peach with a red center, because the colors give the 
dried fruit a more attractive appearance. Of course there is a 
market for dried white peaches but the preference is for the yellow. 

A succession of yellow freestones very popular in the San Joa- 
(|uin Valley is the following: Foster, Wheatland. Elberta, Muir 
Lovell, Late Crawford, Sal way. .\ succession of yellow clingstones 
is this: Tuskena. Seller's. Runyon's. McDevitt's, Henrietta, Phillips. 
The two most popular white clings in tin- same region arc McKe\ - 
itt's and Heath. 

In the enumeration following the talkie only those seedlings 
which are now commercially propagated are included. Many which 
were prominent ten years ago have been drf)|)ped by this test. The 
writer has record of many others some of them likely to rise to 
im|)ortant place, which arc reserved until after further trial. 

The following are the peaches chiefly grown in California, ar- 
ranged ai)proximately in the order of ripening: 

Brigf;s' Red May (California). — Originated as a chance seedling? in nursery 
row, on the farm of John G. Hriggs, <m the Feather River, ahout one mile from 
Yuba City, about 1870. It wa.s found to be about ten days' earlier than the Early 
Tillotson. which was then the stand-by for an early peach. Fruit medium to 
large, round; white skin with rich, red cheek; partially free, a standard early 
variety; subject to mildew. 

Jones' Larf^c Early ( Xow York ).— Large, roundish, llattened, white with 
deep crimson. 

Alcxaudcr ( Illinois). — Most widely grown as best early variety. Fruit 
medium to large: greenish white, nearly covered with deep red; flesh firm, juicy, 
and sweet ; bears transportation well ; pit is partly free. 

Triumph (Georgia). — Medium sized, early, yellow, partial cling; very good. 

Amsden ( Mis.sourij.— Resembles preceding, but averages smaller; claimed by 
some to be slightly earlier; rather less liable to curl-leaf. 

Honey (Lukens).— Medium, ohldig pointed, white mottled carmine; very 
sweet ; related to Peen-to. 

Peeii-to. — Flat peach or saucer peach of China: gc -nd in Southern California. 



288 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Early Imperial (California). — Originated by W. W. Smith. Vncaville, and 
planted to secure a yellow freestone earlier or larger than St. John. Most 
growers find it no improvement on St. John. 

Yellow St. John (New Orleans). — Earliest yellow peach; averages smaller 
than Yellow Crawford, but classed as large ; roundish, orange yellow with deep 
red cheek; juicy, sweet and high flavored; freestone. 

Hale's Early (Ohio). — Medium to large, nearly round; skin greenish, mostly 
covered and mottled with red when ripe ; flesh white, melting, juicy, rich and 
sweet ; fair for local market and shipping ; widely grown ; freestone. 

Straivhcrry (New Jersey). — Medium size, oval; stem cavity deeply sunk; 
suture extending half way round ; skin almost wholly marbled with deep red ; 
flesh whitish, juicy, rich and delicate ; tree healthy. 

Bergen's Yellow (New York). — Large, roundish; suture deep; orange yellow. 
red cheek ; approved in Southern California. 

Foster (Massachusetts). — Uniformly large, slightly flattened; slight suture; 
stem moderately depressed; flesh yellow, very rich and juicy; color deep orange, 
dark red in the sun; freestone; tree hardy and productive; very widely grown 
in California and popular. Ripens before Early Crawford, which it sometimes 
resembles, but is of better quality. 

Crazvford's Early (New Jersey). — Very large, oblong, swollen, point at the 
top prominent, suture shallow ; skin yellow, with red cheek ; flesh yellow, rich, 
and excellent ; freestone ; tree very healthy and productive ; probably the most 
largely planted variety in California. 

George the Fourth (New York). — Large, round, deeply divided by broad 
suture; sides unequal; skin pale yellowish white, dotted with red, and red cheek; 
flesh pale, red at pit, from which it parts freely; quality good. Somewhat 
troubled with curl-leaf. 

Snow (American). — Large, globular; skin clear, beautiful, almost wholly 
white; flesh white to the free stone, juicy, rich, and sprightly. 

Mary's Choice (New Jersey). — Large, yellow, resembhng Early Crawford, 
but ripening later. 

Red Cheek Mclocoton (American). — Large, roundish oval, swollen point at 
top; yellow, with deep red cheek; flesh yellow, red at stone, which is free, juicy, 
good flavor. Approved in Humboldt and San Benito Counties. 

Tuskena (Alabama or Mississippi).— Wrongly called "Tuscan" and "Tustin" 
cling in this State; largely planted in interior valleys and foothills; very large 
yellow cling; the earliest fine cling variety; very valuable for early shipping. 
Ripens with Crawfords Early. 

Oldmixon Free (American). — Large, roundish or slightly oval greenish or 
yellowish white, marbled with red ; flesh white, tender, and excellent, juicy and 
rich ; high flavor. 

Honest Abe (California). — "Originated at Healdsburg, Sonoma County. 
Large, yellow, with red cheek; best quality; ripens between Crawford's Early and 
Late. Does not curl." — James Shinn. 

Morris White. — Large, oval ; skin white with creamy tint when fully ripe ; 
flesh white to the stone, which is free; melting, juicy, sweet, and rich; especially 
good for home use and canning; somewhat subject to curl-'eaf. 

Wager (New York). — Lemon yellow tinged with red; flesh yellow, rich, juicy, 
sweet, excellent, having much the appearance and flavor of apricots ; stone small 
and free from the flesh; quality best. 

Muir (California). — Originated as chance seedling on the place of John Muir, 
near Silveyville, named and first propagated by G. W. Thissell, of Winters. Fruit 
large to very large; perfect freestone; flesh clear yellow, very dense, rich and 
sweet; pit small; tree a good bearer and strong grower, if on rich soil, to which 
it is best adapted ; free from curl in Vacaville district ; fruit a good shipper and 
canner, and peculiarly adapted to drying because of exceptional sweetness and 
density of flesh ; yield, one pound dry from less than five pounds fresh. One of 
the best California seedlings. Claimed by some to be identical with Wager. 



POPULAR CALIFORNIA PEACHES 289 

Muir variations with large flowers, with fruit like Muir, but not splitting at 
pit, reported by W. A. Rosander, Kingsburg; A. S. Coon, Fresno, and H. R. 
Shaw, Selma. 

Muir Cling by W. R. Fletcher, Green Valley, Sonoma County. Commended 
by Green Valley Cannery ; propagated by A. F. Scheidecker, Santa Rosa, 1907. 

Wheatland (New York). — Large, roundish; skin golden yellow, shaded with 
crimson; flesh yellow, rather firm, juicy, sweet, and of fine quality. 

Elbcrta (Georgia). — Very large; round-oval with deep suture; golden-yellow, 
faint red stripes; flesh yellow, fine, juicy, rich and sweet; tree prolific; perfect 
freestone. 

Ncwhall (California).— "Originated with Sylvester Ncwhall, of San Jose. 
Very large; skin yellow, with a dark red cheek; flesh deep yellow, juicy, and a 
rich, vinous flavor; ripens about one week before Crawford's Late; tree very 
hardy, healthy, vigorous, and not affected by curl; freestone."— /o/jm Rock. 

Stump the World (New Jersey).— Large, strong; skin creamy white, with 
bright red cheek; flesh white, juicy, and highly flavored. Commended for family 
use by the Southern California Nurserymen's Association. Curls somewhat in 
some localities ; freestone. 

Crawford's Late (New Jersey).— Very large, roundish, yellow with dark red 
cheek ; flesh deep yellow, juicy, and melting ; flavor rich and excellent ; a popular 
and widely-grown variety, but very subject to curl-leaf in some localities; free- 
stone. 

Lemon Clingstone (South Carolina). — Large, lemon-shaped or oblong, having 
large, projecting, swollen point like a lemon ; skin fine yellow ; flesh firm, yellow 
with sprightly vinous sub-acid; slightly red at the pit, which adheres firmly. 

Orange Clingstone. — Large, round ; suture distinctly marked and extending 
nearly around the fruit; no swelling at apex, like Lemon Clingstone; deep orange 
color, with red cheek; flesh yellow, firm, juicy, with rich flavor; somewhat sub- 
ject to wildew. Though largely grown, this variety has been largely supplanted 
by the following sub-varieties, which are seedlings from it. 

Sellers' Golden Cling (California). — Originated on the farm of S. A. Sellers, 
Contra Costa County, and introduced by James Shinn. Very large, rich golden 
color; tree healthy; one of the very best of clings; ripens with Late Crawford. 

Runyon's Orange Cling (California). — "Originated with Mr. Sol Runyon, on 
the Sacramento River. Superior to the common Orange Cling. Runyon's Orange 
Cling has globose glands, and is not subject to mildew like the common sort. 
Fruit very large, yellow, with a dark crimson cheek; rich, sugary, and vinous 
flavor. Highly esteemed and extensively planted in the Sacramento region and 
elsewhere." — John Rock. 

Nichols' Orange Cling (California). — Originated by Joseph Nichols, of Niles, 
introduced by James Shinn. Large, yellow, with purple cheek; flesh yellow and 
good. Tree healthy and a heavy bearer. 

Peck's Orange C/iXq' (California). — "Originated at llealdsburg, Sonoma 
County. Improved seedling of Orange Cling, of Downing. Large, handsome, 
yellow-fleshed, free from curl, hardy, vigorous, productive, superior for market 
or drying; planted more extensively in Santa Rosa Valley than in any other." — 
Luther Burbank. 

Stilson (California). — "Originated at Marysville (?). Perfect shape; very 
large ; red cheek with crimson stripes ; yellow-fleshed, more highly colored than 
Susquehanna ; table and market quahty excellent ; ripens after Crawford's Late ; 
freestone."— F. W. Butler. 

Susquehanna (Pennsylvania). — Large, nearly globular, suture half-round; skin 
rich yellow, nearly covered with red; flesh yellow, sweet, j'licy, with rich, vinous 
flavor; freestone; tree healthy. Very widely distributed an:! popular. 

McCoivan's Cling (California). — Originated with Dr. McCowan, of Ukiah. 
Yellow cling; round, smooth outline; no suture; no red at pit, which is small; 
flesh firm, fine-grained, and sweet; not much subject to curl; fruit apt to run 
small unless carefully thinned; reported an irregular bearer in Alameda County; 
liked by canners; approved by Placer County. 



290 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Lovcll (California). — Originated as chance seedling with G. W. Thissell, and 
named by him in 1882; propagated by Leonard Coates, of Napa. Yellow free- 
stone ; size uniformly large, almost perfectly round ; flesh fine, texture firm, solid, 
clear yellow to the pit; tree a good grower and bearer; superior for canning and 
shipping, and dries well. Said to curl in some places. "The richest peach I ever 
saw on a tray." — E. A. Boninc. Los Angeles County. The most popular yellow 
freestone for canning and drying. Sometimes reported as "heavier" than 
the Muir. 

McKei'itt's Cling (California). — Originated as a chance seedling in apricot 
orchard planted by M. R. Miller, on place owned later by A. McKevitt, Vaca 
Valley ; named in 1882 by nurserymen who propagated it. A white clingstone ; 
flesh very firm, fine-grained, sugary, and rich, high flavor, vvhite to the pit; skin 
strong, and fruit excellent for shipping or canning; tree remarkably strong in 
growth and free from disease. Widely distributed. 

McClish Cling. — Yellow cling, grown in Sonoma County. 

Wylie Cling. — An old seedling by John Wylie, Green Valley, Sonoma County, 
increasing in popularity in northern Sonoma County as superior to Orange Cling 
in not splitting at the pit, and not dropping from the tree. A fine peach for 
canning and drying. 




The Lovell, a Calitornia seedling. 



I'OI'L'LAR C.WAVORSIA I'KACHES 



291 




Phillips' Cling, a California Seedling. 



General Bidivell (California). — Originated from a shoot from a peach root 
upon which an apricot had grown and died, on Rancho Cliico. Named by State 
Horticultural Society, September 4, 1886, and commended for cultivation. Ripens 
one week later than Late Crawford and ahead of Salway and P'cquet's Late. 
About the shape of the Orange Cling, but larger ; very yellow with reddish cheek ; 
flesh very solid, juicy, and rich; freestone and a small pit. 

California ; syn. Edivard's Cling (California). — "Originated in Sacramento. 
Very large, round, regular ; orange, nearly covered with dark, rich red ; flesh deep 
yellow ; flavor delicate, rich vinous." — C. IV. Reed. 

Picquet's Late (Georgia.) — Large to very large; round, sometimes a little 
flattened; j-ellow, with red cheek; flc.-li yellow, melting, sweet, rich and fragrant; 
freestone; not subject to curl-leaf. 

Smock Freestone (New Jersey).— "Large yellow, mottled with red; moder- 
ately rich and juic}'. A better drying peach than Salway."— £. A. Bonine. 

La Grange (New Jersey). — Large, oblong; greenish white, some red on sunny 
side; not desirable in coast regions; freestone. 

Sahvay (English). — Large, roundish oblate; suture broad, deep, extending 
beyond the apex ; skin downy, creamy yellow, rich, clear, crimson cheek ; flesh 
deep yellow, red at the pit; juicy, rich, sweet, vinous; free"^tone; a standard late 
peach in California ; tree very healthy. 



292 cAi.iFuRNiA fruits: how to grow them 

l^hillips' Cling (.California).— Originated with Joseph Phillips, of Sutter 
County; propagated by J. T. Bogue of Marysville. Fine large yellow cling, no 
colo:- at pit, which is very small ; exceedingly rich and high colored ; described 
by Mr. Skinner, superintendent Marysville Cannery, as the best peach he ever 
used. The most popular yellow clingstone. Ripens progressively so that picking 
can cover two weeks without falling from tree. Requires good land and ample 
moisture. 

Persian's Cling ( California).— "Originated in Visalia, probably from seed of 
Heath Cling, and a few days earlier than its parent. Large; clear white skin and 
flesh, the latter very sweet ; commended for canning." — /. H. Thomas, Tulare 
County. 

Heath (Maryland). — Descriljed by Downing as the most delicious of all cling- 
stones. Very large; skin downy, creamy white, with faint blush of red; flesh 
greenish white, very tender and juicy, with most luscious flavor, best adapted t<i 
interior regions, or places free from curl. 

Stcadtv (Missouri).— "Large to very large; white skin: flesh white at the pit 
Arm, rich, and good flavor ; freestone. Produces very heavy yield of dried fruit." 
— /. H. Thomas, Tulare County. 

George's Late Cling (California). — "Originated in Sacramento. Large; white 
flesh, colored around the pit; beautiful yellow color, striped and splashed with 
bright red; a very heavy and uniform bearer; a good shipper, and at its season 
of ripening there is no peach grown in Placer County that yields the grower so 
much profit." — P. W. Butler. Subject to mildew in some localities. 

Yelloiv Tuscany iDura cini, Tuscany). — A very large yellow cling; propa- 
gated by G. Tosetti, formerly of San Leandro ; tree a strong grower and free 
from curl-leaf; very productive. On the basis of its behavior at the University 
Experiment Station at Pomona, this variety has recently been largely planted in 
Southern California. It is counted the best yellow cling for canning in that 
section. Ripens with Lemon Cling. 

Albright's Cling (California).— "Originated with Mr. Albright, near Placer- 
ville. Very large; yellow, with bright cheek; rarely equaled in quality and flavor. 
Described as larger, more highly colored, of better flavor, better shape, and the 
tree a more prolific bearer than the Orange Cling."^P. W. Butler. Endures long 
shipment even after being well colored. 

McDcvitt Cling. — "Originated with Neal McDevitt. of Placer County. Uni- 
formly large, rich, golden yellow, becoming red when ripe ; flesh very firm and 
solid, superior in flavor ; excellent shipper ; tree good and regular bearer. 

Staley (California). — Very large; eleven and one-half inches in circumference; 
somewhat elongated and flattened laterally ; rich, creamy white with very faint 
touches of light red ; suture shallow, but almost continuous around the peach ; 
stone small and perfectly free, cavity considerably longer than stone ; flesh white 
to the pit. very juicy, fine, tender; flavor delicious. Originated as sucker from 
peach root from which prune had been broken off in Selma, Fresno County. 
Ripens twenty days after Salway, or four weeks after Susqv.f.hanna. A high-class 
white freestone. Introduced by F. M. Nevins, Selma. 

Levy's Late; syn. Henrietta (District of Columbia). — Above average size, 
yellow flesh, red cheek; late; clingstone. Very popular in San Joaquin Valley. 

Bilycu's Late October. — "Large greenish white with red cheek; flesh whitish, 
freestone ; tree a rapid grower and attains great size ; prolific bearer ; fruit ships 
well, and where it will mature no peach cm take its place ; does particularly well 
in the foothills."— P. IV. Bullcr. 

Decker (California). — Grown for eastern shipment, in Vaca Valley, and in 
Sutter and Butte Counties. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE NECTARINE 

The nectarine reaches perfection under California conditions, as 
does its close relative, the peach. The fruit is, in fact, as Down- 
ing says, only a variety of the peach with a smooth skin; only a 
distinct, accidental variety of the peach; and this is rendered quite 
certain, since there are several well-known examples on record of 
both peaches and nectarines having been produced on the same 
branch. Nectarine pits usually produce nectarines again, but they 
occasionally produce peaches. Peach seeds occasionally produce 
nectarines ; the Boston variety originated from a peach stone.* 
All these facts which are recorded of relation between the peach 
and nectarine have been verified by California observation. 

The practice of growing nectarines is also exactly like that em- 
ployed with the peach. It is propagated and pruned in the same 
ways, except that, as pointed out by Mr. Culbertson, the nectarine 
has more of a tendency to form short interior growths, and fruit buds 
are formed on the larger new growths, thus enabling the pruner to cut 
them back more closely, and yet have an abundance of fruit buds re- 
main. The peach and nectarines are the same in natural adaptations 
and requirements, and in diseases, so that what has been given con- 
cerning the growth of the peach in this State has an apt application in 
the case of the nectarine. 

The success of the nectarine worked on almond stock, as has 
been demonstrated by the experience of many, has led to the graft- 
ing over a good many unprofitable almond trees to nectarine, 
though this has not been done to the extent to which the French 
prune and some other plums have been worked on old almond 
stocks. 

Comparative Production of Nectarine and Peach. — It may be 
wondered, considering the similarity of the peach and the necta- 
rine, why the former comes so near being our leading deciduous 
fruit and the latter is the least grown, but one, of all the temperate 
zone fruits, only the lowly quince being less in importance. The 
explanation is that the fruit buyer, both in California and at the 
East, prefers the peach, whether it be fresh, or canned, or dried, 
and some of those who have tried even a fe wacres of nectarines 
have found many occasions to wish the ground had been given 
to peaches. How much of this preference is due to lack of knowl- 
edge of the nectarine, and how much to its somewhat dififerent 
flavor, it would be diffcult to actually determine. 

•"Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees," p. 565. 
293 



294 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

It is true, however, that the nectarine is now advancing in popu- 
lar favor. This has been prophesied for some years and seems 
now being slowly realized because of the wonderful excellence of 
the nectarine as grown in our interior valleys, and the passing 
beauty of the amber translucency of the dried nectarine, both when 
sun-dried and when produced by machine evaporators. The excel- 
lence of the canned nectarine, has also figured in the anticipation. 
It is, however, questionable how far this anticipation has been 
realized, for it is estimated that the amount of dried nectarines 
is less than two per cent and of canned nectarines less than one- 
half of one per cent of the respective forms of peaches. Nor does 
the demand call for change in this proportion, for there is a slight 
advantage in the market value of the peach even in its great pre- 
ponderance of supply. Still the price for dried nectarines has been 
better of late, but whether this is due to better appreciation or re- 
duced production, is a question. It is true that during the last 
decade many nectarines have been rooted out to be replaced by 
peach trees, or have been grafted over into peaches. There are, how- 
ever, some growers who are confident that the nectarine will in 
the future rank much higher in the California fruit product. It 
would please growers and fruit driers and canners to popularize the 
nectarine, for its smooth skin makes it as easy to handle as an apri- 
cot, and the beauty of the product, which certainly exceeds that of 
the peach, and is rather more easily attained, is very gratifying to 
the producer. 



VARIETIES OF THE NECTARINE 

Varieties of the nectarine, as of the peach, show different local 
adaptations, and are valued by growers accordingly. The varieties 
grown, are, however, comparatively few. The following have been 
found most satisfactory in California ; the descriptions are some- 
what condensed from Downing's treatise, modified to suit local 
growth, and arranged approximately in the order of the ripening of 
the varieties. 

Advance. — Large, round, green, marked with red and brown; flesh greenish 
white; rich and well flavored. The earliest to ripen. 

Lord Napier (English). — Large, pale, cream color with dark red cheek; flesh 
white, melting, tender and juicy, separating freely from stone; leaf glands reni- 
form and flowers large. Especially commended as a heavy and regular bearer ; 
pronounced best in flavor at Pomona Experiment Station. 

Downton (English). — Leaves with reniform glands; flowers small; fruit 
large, roundish oval; skin pale green, with deep violet red cheek; flesh pale green, 
slightly red at the stone, which is free, melting rich, and very good. 

Early Newington (English). — Leaves serrated without glands, flowers large; 
fruit large, roundish ovate, a little enlarged on one side, and terminating with an 
acute, swollen point ; skin pale green, but nearly covered with bright red and 



NECTARINE VARIKTIES 295 

coated with thin bloom ; flesh greenish white, but deep red at stone, which adheres 
closely, juicy, sugary, rich, and excellent. 

Hardwickc (English). — Leaves with globose glands; fruit very large, round- 
ish, inclining to oval ; skin pale green, with deep violet red cheeck ; flesh pale 
green, slightly marked with red at the sone, melting, rich, and high-flavored; 
freestone. This variety is a favorite in Southern California; described by the 
Southern California Nurserymen's Association as being the only satisfactory 
bearer. 

Boston. — Raised from a peach stone by T. Lewis, of Boston ; tree hardy and 
productive ; leaves with globose glands ; flowers small ; fruit large and handsome, 
roundish oval, bright yellow, with deep red cheek; flesh yellow to the stone 
(which is small and pointed), sweet, though not rich, with pleasant and peculiar 
flavor ; freestone ; a general favorite in California. 

New White; syn. Large White.— Leaves with reniform glands; flowers large; 
fruit rather large, nearly round ; skin white with occasionally slight tinge of red ; 
flesh white, tender, very juicy, with rich, vinous flavor; stone small and free 
commanded wherever nectarines arc grown in California, and more freely planted 
than all other nectarines combined. 

Stanzviclc. — Originated in England from seed brought from Syria. Large, 
roundish oval, slightly heart-shaped at base ; skin pale, greenish white, shaded 
into deep, rich violet in the sun ; flesh white, tender, juicy, rich, sugary, and 
delicious. 

Humboldt. — Very large, bright orange yellow vigorously marked with crimson, 
flesh orange, tender; juicy, and highly flavored. Described as one of the best of 
the newer varieties. Ripens late. 

As the futtire for the nectarine seems to rest upon drying and 
canning- of the fruit, the light-skinned, white or yellow-fleshed 
varieties without color at the stone, are most desirable. For dry- 
ing there has been thus far a decided preference for freestone varie- 
ties, though possibly the present popularity for cling peaches for 
drying may extend to the clingstone nectarines. Much color, how- 
ever, either in skin or flesh, will prevent the production of the 
beautiful translucent, amber hue of the dried nectarine, which is 
attractive to consumers. Color in the flesh is, of course, unde- 
sirable in canning, because of the discoloration of the syrup. These 
facts have had much to do in fixing the popularity of the varieties 
named in the foregoing list. 

At present the largest orchards of nectarines are in the interior 
valley locations, which are also fine peach counties and are per- 
fectly adapted both to the growing of the fruit and to the open- 
air," sun-drying of it. 



CHAPTER XXII 

THE PEAR 

The oldest deciduous fruit trees in California are pear trees, as 
has already been stated in the account of fruits at the old missions, 
and some of the trees are still bearing-, though it is a century and 
a third since their planting. Trees planted by pioneers in the old 
mining districts have actually assumed semblance to adjacent oaks. 
Notable instances are found in the Stillwater district of Shasta 
County and elsewhere. Near San Jose there is a tree over half a 
century old, with a trunk seven and a half feet around and yielding 
annually about fifteen hundred pounds of fruit, some of which was 
exhibited at the Columbian Exposition. 

The pear withstands neglect and thrives in soils and situations 
which other fruit trees would rebel against. It defies drouth and 
excessive moisture, and patiently proceeds with its fruitage even 
when the soil is trampled almost to rocky hardness by cattle, carry- 
ing its fruit and foliage aloft above their reach. And yet the pear 
repays care and good treatment, and receives them from California 
growers, for the pear has been one of our most profitable fruits. 
It is in demand for canning, fo-r drying, and for distant shipment, 
and its long season and the slow ripening after picking allow delib- 
eration in marketing, and admit of enjoying low rates for shipment 
by slow trains. One of the most striking demonstrations of the 
commercial suitability of the California pear is found in successful 
marketing in London. Solomons, who is called "London's great- 
est fruiter," said in 1903 that California Bartletts from Block of 
Santa Clara are the "best in the world." Even after crossing the 
continent they seemed to endure shipment across the Atlantic bet- 
ter than eastern pears. 

The pear has not the beauty of the peach, nor is its handling 
characterized by so much dash and spirit, but the production of 
favorite market varieties at a time when the market welcomes them 
is about as well repaid as any effort of the California fruit grower. 
Some idea of the yield of thrifty trees in large numbers can be had 
from the report of 100 acres of Bartletts on the Cone ranch near 
Red Bluff, which in 1904 yielded 900 tons of fruit which sold at 
$30 per ton — a gross yield of $27,000, of which not more than $7,000 
were required to pay for the year's care and harvesting, a net yield 
of $200 per acre. There are much higher figures, of course, as the 
product of eight acres near Yuba City which yielded eighty tons in 
1905, sold at $50 per ton or a gross return of $500 per acre ; and 95 
tons in 1906 at $36 per ton or $427 per acre. There are higher 
returns than this, and, unfortunately, many that are much lower. 

296 



WHY THE BARTLETT RULES 297 

The most obvious marks of the California pear are size and beauty. 
The most conspicuous example is the Bartlett, which is the pear of 
California, judged by its popularity, fresh, canned and dried. When 
well grown, its size is grand, and its delicate color, aroma and richness 
unsurpassed. What extreme in point of size has been reached is not 
known to the writer, but he saw at the San Jose Horticultural Fair, of 
1886, thirteen Bartlett pears grown by A. Block, of Santa Clara, which 
weighed fourteen pounds, the heaviest of the group weighing twenty- 
two and one-half ounces. Other pears have made standard sizes in 
California far in advance of their records elsewhere. There was in 
1870 a Pound pear sent from Sacramento to the late Marshall P. 
Wilder, president of the American Pomological Society, which weighed 
four pounds nine ounces, and was reported by Colonel Wilder to be 
larger than anything previously reported in pear annals.* But Califor- 
nia has recently done even better for a pear from near Marysville in 
1904 is reported as nine inches high, sixteen inches around the base and 
five pounds in weight. Notes kept by the writer include five Vicar 
of Winkfields weighing four pounds eight ounces ; nine Easter Beurre 
weighing twenty-four and one-half pounds, the heaviest single speci- 
men weighing two and three-fourths pounds ; thirty-five Beurre Clair- 
geau weighing thirty-seven pounds, the heaviest one, nineteen ounces ; 
Seckel pears, nine and three-fourths inches in circumference — Down- 
ing's figures make the Seckel five and seven-eighths inches around. 



LOCALITIES FOR THE PEAR 

The pear has a wider range than the apple in local adaptations. 
It does as well as the apple in the coast regions, if suitable varieties 
are grown ; it thrives far better than the apple in the interior valleys ; 
it rivals the apple in the ascent of the slope of the Sierra Nevada, and 
gains from the altitude, color and late keeping, as does the apple. By 
rejecting a few naturally tender varieties, or by proper protection 
against the scab fungus {fusicladium dendriticum) , in regions where 
its attacks are severe, one can grow pears almost everywhere in Cali- 
fornia — providing pear blight can be held in check, as will be discussed 
later. 

The choice of location is governed more by commercial considera- 
tions than by natural phenomena. The same facts which make the 
Bartlett the favorite variety with planters, also should regulate the 
choice of locality for growing it. These facts were expressed by the 
late C. W. Reed, of Sacramento, who was in his time one of the lead- 
ing pear growers and shippers of the State, as follows : 



* "Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, March. 1871, p. 87. An engraving of this fruit, 
natural size, was given in Pacific Rural Press, November 8, 1873." 



298 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

In the Sacramento Valley proper there is but one variety of pear that will 
justify extensive cultivation, viz., the Bartlett. While nearly all varieties may be 
grown successfully, and many varieties may be desirable for home purposes, yet 
for profitable orchards we have to confine ourselves to this one variety, except in 
high altitudes, or localities where the fruit only matures very late. The reason 
for this will be better understood by the inexperienced if exolained. The Bartlett 
pear having qualities that make it a universal favorite for shipping, canning, and 
for domestic market, no other variety is wanted while it is obtainable. With the 
difference in the time of its ripening in different localities that are adjacent, our 
markets are supplied with this variety about four months each season, viz., July, 
August, September and October. While this pear is in the markets, any other 
variety to compete with it must sell at very low prices. It is not only the great 
demand the Bartlett pear has over the other varieties in the markets, but as a 
healthy grower and regular bearer it has no equal. [This was written before the 
introduction of the pear blight.] In higher altitudes, where pears will keep till 
the Bartlett has disappeared, other varieties may be quite profitable, although 
they can never be grown to any similar extent. 

Of course experienced pear growers, whose taste would soon cloy 
with a contiuous diet of Bartletts, and who know fully the superior 
quality of other varieties which ripen soon after it, would dispute the 
position taken by Mr. Reed, but for present California taste and trade 
he is undoubtedly correct. As the canners and shippers and local con- 
sumers all call for Bartletts, and as they usually sell at the East for 
nearly twice the price of other varieties, the choice of location to secure 
a Bartlett. either very early or very late, is the part of wisdom, for 
either end of the season usually yields better prices than the middle. 
Some growers are even opening the Bartlett season by growing Clapp's 
Favorite, which sells well because it is taken for a Bartlett, and clos- 
ing the season with the Winter Bartlett, a local variety recently intro- 
duced. The earliest Bartletts come from the interior valley somtimes 
as early as the last week in June; the next, from the valleys adjacent 
to the Bay of San Frnacisco ; the next, from the higher foothills of the 
Sierra Nevada; and the last, so far as present experience goes, 
although some coast and mountain situations are quite late, reach the 
market from the Vacaville district. It is an interesting fact that this 
district, which has long been famous for marketing the first early 
fruits, should also market very late ones. It is true, however, that early 
fruits hasten to maturity and late fruits are retarded. Late fruits push 
along until about midsummer, then stop growing for a month or two 
during the hottest weather, and afterwards proceed on their course 
and finish up well. W. W. Smith, of Vaca Valley, has picked Bart- 
letts as late as November 19, but that is unusually late. In years with 
heavy late spring rains the Bartlett ripens earlier in the Vaca Valley 
than in ordinary seasons, and when the fruit sells well in the East, the 
Bartletts are gathered green and shipped all through the season, as 
their first growth usually makes them large enough for this purpose. 

Though the Bartlett is in wide favor, as stated, there is some prog- 
ress being made in introducing other varieties, as will be stated in con- 
nection with the discussion of the adaptations of varieties. This sub- 
stitution of other sorts is in part because the merit of others is being 



PKAR PROPAGATION 299 

recognized, and in part because in some regions some of them are 
healthier and more trustworthy bearers than the Bartlett. 

There is produced in some situations a "second crop" of Bartletts 
and of other varieties which is of account when pears are scarce and 
is sometimes dried with profit. For such fruit the bloom appears upon 
the tips of the shoots of the current season's growth. The fruit is 
sometimes coreless and has led to claims of "seedless pears." Bartlett 
pears have actually been picked in the foothills above Peatz in Butte 
County on February 25, 1905, and described as "fine, delicious and 
ripe." This fact must be regarded as a token of local climatic salub- 
rity and not of economic or pomological account. 



SOILS I'OR THF PFAR 

The pear, if it is not allowed to dry out entirely, will generally do 
well on shallow soil and over a tight, clay hard-pan, where most other 
fruits would be unsatisfactory or fail utterly. The trees will thrive in 
clay loams, and even in adobe, if properly cultivated. In laying out 
fruit farms, which often include a variety of soils, even in compara- 
tively small area, the pears and plums (if on the right stock, as will 
be seen), should be set in the lower, moister. stififer soil, and other 
fruits on the lighter, warmer, and better drained portions. The pear, 
however, enjoys the better situation, though it will thrive on the poorer. 
The tree seems to attain its greater growth and heaviest bearing on the 
alluvial soils of the valleys and near the banks of rivers and streams. 
.All pears will be later in maturing and have better keeping qualities if 
grown on a clay subsoil. Thus it appears that the pear will flourish 
whether the water is near or far from the surface. On wet land the 
apple is Txyit to die in a few years, or become worthless. On dry land 
the apple lives longer, but the fruit is small and tasteless. But the pear 
tree may bear good fruit, under the same conditions. 

It has been learned by experience that the pear will flourish on soil 
somewhat alkaline. At the University Agricultural Experiment Station 
at Tulare, this subject has been demonstrated in detail. It is shown 
that though the pear endures a certain amount of alkali its limit of 
endurance may be often exceeded and there is little warrant to select 
alkali soil for pears, unless it be to fill a space that would otherwise be 
vacant in the orchard. If it is not too alkaline the pears will thrive. 
If gypsum be used in planting, somewhat stronger alkali will be en- 
dured than otherwise. 



PROPAGATION AND PLANTING 

The use (->f dwarfing stock for the pear has been nearly abandoned 
in this State, though in early \fars the quince was largely used. The 



300 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

most prominent orchard on quince stock is that of A. Block, of Santa 
Clara, where may be seen dwarf trees originally planted eight feet 
apart in squares, but now wider spaced by removing part of the trees; 
the remainder doing exceedingly well under liberal manuring and irri- 
gation. It is quite possible that, at least for gardens, there may be in 
the future more use made of dwarf trees, but for commercial orchards 
there appears no need of dwarfing. The common conclusion is that 
it is better to have fewer trees and larger ones, but since the pear blight 
became an issue in this State the Anglers quince has been advocated as 
a means of maintaining a sound root and keeping the warfare above 
ground. 

The following varieties are commended for cultivation on quince 
stock as dwarfs, experience proving them vigorous growers and abun- 
dant bearers in suitable localities: Bartlett, Beurre Hardy, Doyenne 
du Cornice, Duchess d'Angouleme, Glout Morceau, Pound, Beurre Diel, 
White Doyenne, Easter Beurre, Winter Nelis, P. Barry, Winter Bart- 
lett. 

But the pear is usually grown in California on its own roots; 
that is upon imported French pear seedlings. It comes into bear- 
ing early enough, and is a long-lived tree unless badly attacked 
by blight. Trees are grown by either budding or grafting, as 
described in the chapter on that subject. Only good seedling roots 
should be used, and not suckers from old trees. The Japanese stock, 
so called, being seedlings from the Sand pear, of Asia, has been 
used to some extent, but no definite results reported. Propagation 
upon rooted cuttings of the Le Conte, which has a measurable resist- 
ance to the pear blight, has been advised for the purpose of secur- 
ing less susceptible roots. Mr. M. B. Waite, orchard pathologist 
of the United States Department of Agriculture, has in progress a 
test of many cross-bred seedlings in the hope of reaching, a hardier 
seedling stock for pears than is now known. He also proposes top 
grafting the Bartlett upon Winter Nelis, Seckel, Angouleme, Law- 
son and other partially immune varieties to increase the chances 
of securing a somewhat resistant tree-body and sound roots. For- 
tunately the pear is readily grafted-over by the common methods. 

Distance in Planting. — If the pears are to have the whole 
ground, it is usual to plant from twenty to twenty-four feet apart 
on the square. As the tree is slower to attain size and full bear- 
ing than the stone fruits, and as it is a long-lived tree, the pears 
are sometimes set twenty-four feet with plums in quincunx. 
Peaches and apricots are also set between pears sometimes, when 
the soil chosen for pears suits them also. 



PRUNING THE PEAR 301 

PRUNING 

Usually the pear is grown in the vase form, as described in the 
general chapter on pruning. With regular, upright growers, head- 
ing low and cutting to outside buds results in a handsome, gently- 
spreading top, and effectually curbs the disposition which some 
varieties, notably the Bartlett, have to run straight up with main 
branches crowded together. 

As with other fruit trees, the pear must be studied and pruning 
must be done with an understanding of the habit of the variety 
under treatment. Irregular and wayward growers, which, in windy 
places, also have their rambling disposition promoted by prevailing 
winds, often give the grower much perplexity. The general rules 
of cutting to an outside bud to spread the tree, to an inside bud to 
raise and concentrate it, and to an outside bud one pear and an 
inside bud the next, if a limb is desired to continue in a certain 
course, are all helpful to the pruner. But with some pears, of 
which the Winter Nelis is a conspicuous example, it is exceedingly 
hard to shape the tree by these general rules, and some growers 
abandon all rules, merely shortening in where too great extension is 
seen, or to facilitate cultivation, and trust to shaping the tree when 
it shall have finished its rampant growing period. It will be inter- 
esting to cite a few methods of California pear growers: 

"The Winter Nelis pear is an uncouth grower. Let the trees alone until they 
have borne a good, heavy crop, and the limbs come down and spread out nicely; 
this will occur in five or six years after setting. This will give you an idea what 
you want to do with the balance of the top that is not borne down with the fruit. 
My plan is to cut straggling branches, thin out so that the branches will not wind 
around each other, but don't cut the top, for you will find that the more you cut 
the more wood you get, and after the tree comes into full bearing is plenty of 
time to head back."— ^. Cadivell, Petaluma. 

"Our orchard is not in a very windy place, but still it is windy enough to 
throw our Nelis trees out of form. To get any regularity of shape, we cut off 
every year all the shoots growing low down on the leeward side, shortening in 
what are left as occasion may require, to an inside bud. On the windward side 
we rarely cut any branch out, but shorten in a little to an outside bud, frequently 
being obliged to cut back a strong shoot to a lateral which is growing outward." — 
Leonard Coates, Napa. 

"It is hard to get a misshapen Winter Nelis tree into shape. Let the grower 
take his shears and go around the tree and examine the difficulty until he is 
conversant with it, and then commence to nrune, not too heavily, though. Cut 
the limbs that lean too far leewards back a little with an inside bud, and train all 
future limbs toward the weather side of the tree ; cut the limbs this year so that 
the coming buds will form limbs growing in the direction of the weather side of 
the tree. But use moderation and take your time for it, and don't cut too many 
big limbs off three-year-old trees — none, in fact, if it can be helped. In bringing 
limbs to proper place, I have found a piece of cornstalk the required length for 
the intended place, inserted endwise between the limb and the body of the tree to 
be spread, to be a very good brace, easily made, and not likely to injure the tree." 
— T. E. Owen, Santa Cruz. 

These methods will suggest others by which one can bring the 

most irregular grower into shape. If the tree is cut at planting so 

as to form the head low, it may be safely left until bearing age for 



302 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: H0\\ TO GROW THEM 

shaping. The tree naturally makes a viny growth of young wood. 
and the object of leaving it alone is that one limb holds the others 
more upright until the main limbs become large, or stiff enough to 
keep the shape ; so they may be left, after being thinned out to form 
three to five limbs, as judgment may direct. Some trees will be best 
with three or four, others five. 

The experience of pear pruning just cited has been secured in 
regions more or less subject to coast influences. In the hot interior 
valleys, with the pear as with the apple, care must be taken to 
prune so as not to open the tree too much to the sun, but to shorten 
in and thin out only so far as is consistent with maintaining a good 
covering of foliage. 

The pruning of bearing pear trees is much like that of the apple, 
to be determined largely by the habit of the tree, and to secure a 
fair amount of fruit on branches with strength and stififness enough 
to sustain it. 

Summer pruning will promote fruiting either in a young or an 
old tree and some practice it to secure early bearing of young trees., 
but the common practice is winter pruning to secure strong wood 
and prevent overbearing. 

THINNING PEARS 

It is quite important to attend to thinning the fruit on over- 
loaded trees. Even the popular Bartlett will often give fruit too 
small for profiable sale unless thinned. With pears, as other fruits, 
thinning should not be done until it is seen that the fruit is well set. 
Dropping off from natural causes sometimes thins the crop quite 
enough. 

IRRIGATION OF THE PEAR 

In some situations the pear needs irrigation, though it will en- 
dure drouth which would destroy most other fruit trees. There is 
no profit in small, tough fruit. As stated in the chapter on irriga- 
tion the wood growth and fruit show whether proper moisture 
needs are met or not. Early pears are advanced in development by 
irrigation in some parts of the State, and this is an important factor 
in their value. 

BLIGHT OF THE PEAR 

Although California pear growers who came to the State en- 
dowed with Eastern experience have always apprehended the in- 
troduction of the true pear blight and shivered every time they saw 
die-back or blackening on a pear branch, the probability is that all 
early reports of its entrance were misapprehensions until the real 
scourge appeared in the San Joaquin Valley about a decade ago. 
The rapidity with which trees began to be destroyed at that time 
manifested its habit in this State and warrants the conclusion that 
earlier troubles of the tree probably arose from other causes. In 



THE PEAR BLIGHT 303 

1904, after having nearly wiped out bearing- trees in the southern 
counties of the San Joaquin Valley the disease began to devastate 
the orchards along the Sacramento River through the vast area 
of rich valley land which it traverses and on which is situated our 
most extensive pear acreage. In 1905 resolute warfare was made 
upon the blight, with a large appropriation of State funds, by the 
plant disease experts of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture and of the California Agricultural Experiment Station, with the 
assistance of the local horticultural authorities. It was probably the 
greatest campaign ever made against a single tree disease although 
some insect warfares have been greater. The outlines of the plans 
followed and the results attained are to be found in the publications 
of the institutions engaged.* 

In a later chapter on Diseases of Trees and Vines, an outline 
of procedure against pear blight will be given. It is apprehended 
that neither paying crops nor living trees can be counted upon in 
the future unless the disease is successfully kept under control by 
successful fighting or by recourse to some form of natural immunity 
w-hich can be discovered or developed by plant breeding. It is 
probable that pears can not be grown in the future as cheaply and 
profitably as in the past and there is a certain amount of bravery 
or daring in pear investments at the present time. It is encour- 
aging, however, to note that in California the disease shows signs 
of relaxing the virulence which characterized its first attacks and 
it is reasonable to believe that here as elsewhere it may be possible 
to have the blight and j^ears also. The reader must keep himslf 
continually informed of the various phases of the problem as thev 
will arise, by careful study of our excellent California horticultural 
journals and of later publications from the official sources which 
have been indicated. 

The very exuberance of tlie ])car in California seems to increase the 
virulence of the blight. The long growing season with its continual 
production of new soft tissue, the unseasonable bloom which attracts 
bees to bring new supplies of blight germs, the break of new shoots 
from root, trunk and main branches — all these make the tree subject 
to repeated renewals of the disease in all its most rulnerable parts. How 
far growth can be repressed by scant cultivation or by summer prun- 
ing ; how far suppression of later shoots and blooms is practicable and 
whether the tree can be depleted so that it can only make fair sized 
fruit and no surplus soft tissue for blight invasion — all these are cul- 
tural problems which make pear growing very interesting to the en- 
quiring mind. A Sonoma grower suggests that pruning may be used 
to control pear blight in the following manner: It is the natural ten- 
dency of the pear and apple while young to form fruiting spurs upon 

*Reports of the California Commissioners of Horticulture, 1901 to 1906, including Reports 
on California Fruit Growers' Conventions for -1905-6-7, J. W. Jeffrey, Commissioner, Sac- 
ramento. Report of Plant Pathologist, University Experiment Station, Berkeley, 1906 and 
1908. 



304 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the body and larger branches of the tree. These fruiting spurs pro- 
duce blosoms from year to year, which are in turn as liable to be visited 
by bees or other insects carrying the destructive spores of the disease 
as are the blossoms at the ends of the branches. It is evident, there- 
fore, that a blossom situated upon the body or larger branches of a tree, 
becoming infected, would communicate the disease directly to the 
framework of the tree, with the result that it would be fatally injured ; 
but if these fruiting spurs are all removed from the body and larger 
branches by pruning, the possibilities of infection in this way are over- 
come. The available means of gaining entrance to the tree by this para- 
site is confined to the smaller branches, which if affected can be cut 
away without severely injuring or disfiguring the tree. All suckers at 
the base of the tree should be removed at the point where they emerge 
from the trunk or the roots as they favor the entrance of blight to the 
root. The Le Conte root is being used because of its resistance. 

The scab fungus which seriously affects some varieties, and notably 
the Winter Nelis, in the Coast region, is identical with the scab of the 
apple and will be mentioned in the chapter on tree diseases. Because 
of the liability of the Winter Nelis, to this disease, and because of its 
irregular bearing in the Coast region, there have been many trees 
grafted over into varieties better suited to Coast conditions. The Beurre 
Clairgeau, because of its health, prolific bearing, and acceptability to 
shippers, was largely introduced in this way, but it has not sold as well 
as expected. Ordinary top grafting succeeds admirably with the pear. 
Clapp's Favorite and other varieties have also been worked upon Win- 
ter Nelis but they are apt to be more susceptible to blight than 
Winter Nelis so this old practice is now of less value than formerly. 

GATHERING AND RIPENING OF PEARS 

Many pear growers make the common mistake of allowing the 
fruit to hang too long on the tree, instead of gathering and ripening 
in a cool, dark place. Pears should be picked at the first indication of 
ripeness, the first sign being a tendency of the stem to part from the 
spur when the pear is gently raised up. This test applies especially to 
the Bartlett. Picking at this stage and laying away in the dark ripens 
up the Bartlett well. When picked at this stage and sent overland by 
slow freight, they ripen en route and the boxes open well on the Eastern 
markets. There are a few varieties which shrivel if ripened under 
cover, but the rule is a good one, and the grower will soon note the ex- 
ceptions. Many desirable varieties have, no doubt, been pronounced 
poor and insipid because allowed to ripen on the tree. 

To ripen well, pears should be packed in tight boxes or inclosed 
in drawers. They do not do as well as apples on shelves open to cir- 
culation of air. As already stated, the oily-skinned apple endures 
exposure and maintains a smooth, ruddy cheek and sound heart 
in spite of wind, rain and rough weather. The pear under similar 
conditions decays rapidly. 



WHEN PEARS BLOSSOM 



305 



POLLINATION OF PEARS 

As very few varieties of pears are largely grown in California 
and as the Bartlett generally bears well when grown in large acre- 
ages by itself, the Eastern claim that the Bartlett is self-sterile does 
not seem to be justified in California experience. Recent observa- 
tions indicate that even at the east the Bartlett is self-fertile when 
conditions are favorable to setting of the fruit and self-sterile when 
they are otherwise. As conditions are usually favorable in Califor- 
nia this may be the reason why its self-fertility is more conspicuous 
here than at the east. It has been individually noted, however, that 
the White Doyenne is a good fertilizer for the Bartlett. The Win- 
ter Nelis is one of the pears commercially worth growing which is 
most apt to be fruitless, but thus far association with other varieties 
has not been demonstrated to be a full remedy. For the assistance 
of those who desire to test pear pollination the following statement 
is made of the relative dates of bloom of a large number of varieties, 
based upon records kept in Tulare County: 

VARIETY First Bloom Full Bloom 

Barry March 10 March 20 

Bartlett March 14 March 24 

Belle Lucrative March 14 March 26 

Beurre Clairgeau March 11 March 22 

Beurre d'Amanlis March 10 March 20 

Beurre d'Aiijou March 16 March 24 

Beurre Diel March 20 March 30 

Beurre Giffard March 16 JVIarch 26 

Beurre Gris d'Hiver March 14 March 24 

Beurre Hardy March 18 March 28 

Clapp's Favorite March 14 March 24 

Colonel Wilder March 14 March 24 

Counseiller de la Cour March 12 March 22 

Dearborn's Seedling March 16 March 28 

Doyenne d'AIencon March 18 March 28 

Doyenne d'Ete March 18 March 28 

Doyenne du Cornice March 16 March 26 

Duchesse d'Angoulene March 12 March 20 

Easter Beurre March 14 March 20 

Flemish Beauty March 20 March 30 

Forelle March 2 March 10 

Frederick Clapp March 16 March 26 

Howell March 14 March 24 

Jaminette March 12 March 22 

Josephine de Malines March 12 March 22 

Keifer's Hybrid March 2 March 10 

Kennedy March 14 March 24 

Lawrence March 12 March 22 

Lawson March 16 March 26 

Le Conte Feb. 28 March 2 

Louise Bonne de Jersey March 10 March 20 

Seckel March 14 March 24 

Sheldon March 18 March 28 

Souvenir du Congres March 20 March 29 

Swan's Orange March 14 March 24 

Vernon March 8 March 19 

White Doyenne March 14 March 24 

Winter NeUs March 12 March 20 



306 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW -THEM 

VARIETIES OF THE PEAR 

Though large collections of famous Eastern and European pears 
have been brought to California, the peculiarity of the local market 
and demand for canning and shipping has led to concentration upon 
very few sorts. The pears chiefly grown in California are the follow- 
ing, arranged approximately in the order of their ripening: 

Harvest; syn. Sugar Pear (American). — Small, roundish, pale yellow, brown- 
ish in sun, brown and green dots; flesh whitish, rather dry but sweet; tree 
upright, young wood olive yellow brown. 

Madeleine (French). — Medium, obovate pyriform, stalk long and slender, set 
on the side of a small swelling; pale yellowish green, rareiy brownish blush; 
calyx small, in shallow, furrowed basin; flesh write, juicy, dencate. 

Wilder Early (American). — Small to medium, yellow with red cheek; sweet, 
and good. Recently introduced and profitable for local sale in San Diego county. 
Should not be confused with Col. Wilder, a California seedling which has gone 
out of use. 

Bloodgood (New York).— Tree short, jointed, deep readish brown wood; 
fruit medium turbinate, inclining to obovate, thickening abruptly into stalk; 
yellow, sprinkled with russet dots ; calyx strong, open, almost without depression ; 
stalk obliquely inserted, without depression, short, fleshy at its base ; flesh yellow- 
ish white, melting, sugary, aromatic; core small. 

Clapp's Favorite (Massachusetts).— Tree a strong grower; young shoots dark 
reddish brown; fruit large, slightly obtuse pyriform; pale lemon yellow with 
brown dots; flesh fine, melting, juicy, with rich, sweet dedicate, vinous flavor; 
resembles Bartlett, but lacks musky flavor. 

Dearborn's Seedling (Massachusetts). — Young shoots long, reddish brown; 
under medium size; roundish pyriform; smooth, clear, light yellow, with few 
minute dots; stalk slender set with very little depression; calyx spreading in 
shallow basin; flesh white, very juicy, melting, sprightly. 

Lazuson; syn. Comet (New York). — Medium to large bright crimson on 
yellow ground; flesh fine, rich and sweet. 

Souvenir du Congres (French). — Large to very large (exceeding Bartlett and 
Clapp's Favorite, to both of which it bears a strong resemblance) ; skin smooth, 
bright yellow when fully ripe, brilliant carmine in the sun ; flesh resembling 
Bartlett, but has not the musky flavor ; firm to the core ; tree a good grower, but 
somewhat subject to smut. 

Bartlett (English). — Tree a strong grower, early bearer, and healthy; fruit 
large, smooth, clear yellow, sometimes with delicate blush ; stalk moderately long, 
stout and inserted in shallow cavity; calyx open; flesh white, fine grained, juicy, 
buttery, highly perfumed (musky), vinous flavor. 

Bcurrc Hardy. — Large, long obovate, sometimes obscurely pyriform; skin 
greenish with thin, brown russet; stalk an inch long; cavity small, uneven, 
obliqe, basin shallow; buttery, somewhat melting, rich, slightly sub-acid; tree a 
strong grower. 

Flemish Beauty (Belgian). — Large, obovate, often obscurely tapering to the 
crown, very obtuse, surface slightly rough, witli some reddish brown russet on 
pale yellow ground; flesh juicy, melting, and good if picked early and ripened in 
the house. 

Seckel (Pennsylvania). — Rather small, regularly formed, obovate; brownish 
green, becoming dull yellowish brown, with russet red cheek; stalk slightly 
curved, and set in a trifling depression; calyx small and set in a very slight 
depression; flesh whitish, buttery, very juicy and melting, with peculiarly rich, 
spicy flavor and aroma. 



POPULAR PEAR VARIETIES 307 

Howell (Connecticut). — Rather large, roundish pynform, light waxen yellow, 
often with finely-shaded cheek thickly sprinkled with minute russet dots and 
some russet patches ; stalk medium, without cavity and sometimes lipped ; some- 
times in small cavity; calyx open in large, uneven basin; flesh whitish, juicy, brisk, 
vinous. 

Ducliess d'Angoulcine (France). — Very large, oblong obovate ; somewhat 
uneven, knobby surface; dull greenish yellow, streaked and spotted with russet; 
stalk long, stout, bent, deeply set in irregular cavity ; calyx set in somewhat 
knobby basin ; flesh white, buttery, and juicy, with rich flavor. 

Louise Bouiic of Jersey (France). — Large oblong pyriform, a little one-sided; 
glassy, pale green in shade, brownish red in the sun, numerous gray dots ; stalk 
curved, rather obliquely inserted, without depression, or with a fleshy, enlarged 
base; calyx open in a shallow uneven basin; flesh very juicy, and melting, rich, 
and excellent ; very prolific. 

Beurre Diet ( Relgium).— Large, varying from obovate to obtuse pyriform; 
skin rather thick, lemon yellow, becoming orange yellow, marked with large brown 
dots and marblings of russet; stalk stout, curved in rather uneven cavity; calvx 
nearly closed in slightly furrowed basin ; flesh yellowish white, a little coarse- 
grained near the core ; rich, sugary, buttery, delicious. 

White Doyenne; syn. Virgalieu (French).— Medium to large, regular, obo- 
vate ; smooth, clear pale yellow, sprinkled with small dots, sometimes red cheeked ; 
stalk brown, little curved, in small round cavity ; calyx small, closed in shallow 
basin ; flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, rich, and high flavored. 

Beurre Base (Belgium). — Large pyriform, a little uneven, often tapering long 
and gradually into the stalk; skin pretty smooth, dark yellow, dots and streaks 
of cinnamon russet, slightly red on one side ; stalk long, rather slender, curved ; 
calyx short, in shallow basin ; flesh white, melting, buttery, rich, with slightly 
perfumed flavor. 

Onondaga; syn. Sivan's Orange (Connecticut). — Large, ol)tuse, oval pyriform, 
neck very short and obtuse, body large and tapering to obtuse apex; flesh melting, 
sprightly, vinous. A vigorous, upright grower, healthy : yellow shoots ; sells well 
in distant markets. 

Beurre Clairgeau (France). — Large, pyriform, but with unequal sides; yellow, 
shaded with orange and crimson, thickh' covered with russet dots, sometimes 
sprinkled with russet ; stalk short, stout and fleshy, inserted by a lip at an incli- 
nation almost without depression ; when lip is absent, the cavity is uneven ; calyx 
open; flesh yellowish, buttery, juicy, graular, sugary, perfumed, vinous. A pop- 
ular variety for local and distant markets. 

Beurre d'Anjou (France). — Large, obtuse pyriform; stem, short, thick, and 
fleshy, in a cavity, surrounded by russet ; calyx small, open in small cavity, rus- 
setted ; skin greenish, sprinkled with russet, sometimes shaded with dull crimson, 
brown and crimson dots; flesh whitish, not very fine, melting, juicy, brisk, vinous 
flavor, perfumed ; tree a fair grower, but somewhat affected by fungus. 

Danu's Hovey; syn. Winter Scckcl (Massachusetts). — Small, obovate, obtuse 
pyriform; greenish yellow or pale yellow, with much russet and brown dots; 
stalk rather short ; a little curved, set in slight cavity, sometimes lipped ; calyx 
open and basin small ; flesh, yellowish, juicy, melting, sweet, aromatic. 

I'icar of JJ'iukfield (France).— Large and long pyriform; pale yellow, fair 
and smooth, sometimes with brownish cheek and marked with small brown dots ; 
stalk slender, obliquely inserted without depression ; calyx large, open, set in a 
basin very slightly sunk; flesh greenish yellow, juicy, with good sprightly flavor. 

Doyenne du Coniice (France). — Large, varying, roundish pyriform, or broad, 
obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow becoming fine yellow, shaded with crimson, 



308 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

slightly marked with russet spots, and thicklv sprinkled with russet dots ; stalks 
short, stout, inclined and set in shallow cavity, often russetted ; calyx small, open ; 
basin large, deep and uneven ; flesh white, fine, melting, aromatic. Very profitable 
during last few years in eastern shipments. 

Glout Morceau (Flemish).— "Rather large, varying, in form, but usually short 
pyriform, approaching obtuse oval; neck very short and obtuse; body large and 
tapering towards crown ; often considerably ribbed ; green, becoming pale greenish 
yellow ; stalk stout, moderately sunk ; calyx large, basin distinct, rather irregular ; 
flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, mehing, rich, sweet, and fine flavor." — /. /. 
Thomas. 

Block's Acme (California seedling, by A. Block, of Santa Clara). — Large and 
very handsome, surpassing Beurre Clairgeau in size and color; regularly formed, 
pyriform, skin pale yellow, covered with russet all over, which becomes a fine 
glowing red on the side exposed to the sun; flesh white, crisp, and melting, juicy, 
sweet, and slightly musky ; a pear that will rank foremost with our best shipping 
pears; reserved by originator for his own export trade. 

Winter Nclis (Belgium).— Medium, roundish, obovate, narrowed in near the 
stalk; yellowish green, dotted with gray russet and a good deal covered with rus- 
set; stalk rather long, bent, and set in narrow cavity; calyx open in shallow 
basin; flesh yellowish, white, fine grained, buttery, very melting, and full of rich, 
sweet, aromatic juice. 

P. Barry (California seedling by B. S. Fox).— Fruit large, elongated pyri- 
form, a Httle obtuse; skin deep yellow, nearly covered with a rich golden russet; 
stalk of medium length and thickness, set rather obliquely on a medium cavity, 
sometimes by a lip; flesh whitish, fine, juicy, melting, sweet, slightly vinous, and 
rich. "An early and proHfic bearer. December to January."— California Nursery 
Co. The pear, P. Barry, is recommended for planting, by the Southern California 
Nurserymen's Association. It is, to some extent, displacing the Winter Nelis as 
a more healthy tree and a more certain bearer. 

Easter Beurre (France). — Large, roundish, obovate obtuse, often rather 
square in figure; yellowish green, sprinkled with many russet dots and some 
russet patches; stalk rather short, stout, set in an abruptly sunken, obtuse cavity; 
calyx small, closed, but little sunk among plaited folds of angular basin; flesh 
white, fine grained, very buttery, melting, and juicy, sweet rich, flavor; was suc- 
cessfully shipped from California to England as early as 1872. 

Pound. — Large, pyriform, yellowish-green with red cheek, esteemed for cook- 
ing; reaches enormous size in this State as already noted. 

Kieffer and Le Conte. — These pears, recently introduced as especially hardy 
varieties, are grown to a limited extent in all parts of the State, but are usually 
condemned as inferior to the European varieties which attain such excellence in 
this State. The Le Conte root is used as a stock for the Bartlett because of its 
resistance to blight. 

Crocker's Bartlett (California). — Chance seedling on place of L. L. Crocker, 
Loomis, Placer county. Introduced by Mr. Crocker in 1902. Described in year 
book, 1905, of U.' S. Department of Agriculture ; medium to large, oblong, obo- 
vate, pyriform ; rich golden yellow, somewhat russetty ; quality very good ; keeps 
until March. Claimed to be blight-free and regularly productive. 

Winter Bartlett (Oregon). — Chance seedling in a dooryard in Eugene, Ore- 
gon. Introduced in California by Geo. C Roeding, of Fresno. Closely resembles 
Bartlett in shape and apnearance and flavor but a little coarser; ripens four 
months later than Bartlett in interior situations in California and promising as 
a winter pear. 



POPULAR PEAR VARIETIES 



30') 



Pear Varieties Approved by California Growers. 



VARIETIES 

Angoulcmc. Duchess'd 

Anjou 

Bartlett 

Bloodgood 

Bosc 

B. S. Fox 

Brandy wine 

Clairgeaii 

Clapp's Favorite 

Cornice 

Dana's Hovey 

Dearborn 

Did 

Easter Beurre 

Emile d'Heyst 

Flemish Beauty 

Glout Morceau 

Hardv, Beurre 

Howell 

Kieffer 

Lawson 

Louise, Bonne de Jersey 

Madeleine ... 

Onondaga 

P. Barry 

Seckel 

Souv. de Congres 

Vicar of Winkfield 

Wilder, Early 

White Doyenne 

Winter Bartlett 

Winter Nelis 



*Inclicates that the variety is 
**Most highly commended. 



Upper 
coast 
valleys 



** 
** 



Central 
coast 
valleys. 



** 



* 

** 

* 



* 



Interior 

valley and 

foothill. 



Mountain 
valley and 
plateaux. 



Southern 

California. 

* 



* 









ived in the region designated. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
PLUMS AND PRUNES* 

The plums of California are exceptionally fine in appearance and 
of high quality. Both tree and fruit have thus far escaped the para- 
sites which have wrought greatest injury on the eastern side of the 
continent. The curculio has never been found here, and the "black 
knot," though detected in some of the indigenous species of the 
genus prunusj has never been observed in our orchards. The tree suf- 
fers, it is true, as do most other fruit trees, from various pests and dis- 
eases but their work is a light affliction compared with the ravages of 
the curculio and black knot which Eastern plum growers have to con- 
tend against. Because of reduced planting during the last few years, 
the plum stands second in point of number among the fruit trees of 
California, for. as noted in Chapter XX, the peach now holds first place. 
Of the plums, at least four-fifths are those varieties designated as 
prunes. This is, of course, owing to the profitable shipping demand 
for our prune product, while ordinary dried, pitted plums are expensive 
in production and do not always command good prices. There is, how- 
ever, a large trade at the East in our fine plums in a fresh state. Some 
varieties stand shipment well, and are large, handsome and in some 
cases possessed of unicjue characters, resulting from Mr. Burbank's 
work with the Japanese species as will be noted later. Considerable 
shipments of fresh plums have been made from California to England. 
The maximum in plum profits is much like that with other fruits, for 
L. W. Leak, a Placer County grower, reported in 1906 a net return of 
$759 from an acre of "Hungarian prunes." 

By choosing varieties ripening in succession, the plum season ex- 
tends from May to December, thus enabling the California plum 
grower to strike the Eastern markets both early and late. It is on record 
also, that second crop plums have ripened. In 1904 Judge Leib, of San 
Jose, sent to Luther Burbank, on December 1, ripe fruit from a tree 
which ripened its first crop on July 4 of the same year. 

There is also a considerable demand for plums by the canners who 
do not use, however, the varieties in chief demand for shipping. 



* All prunes are plums, but all plums are not prunes. A prune is a plum which can be 
dried without the removal of the pit without fermenting: The result being a fleshy pulp with 
a high degree of sweetness. -All plums which will not do this are not prunes, even though 
ihc word may appear in their California common names. 

t Found on primus deniissa, in Yosemite Valley and in Coast Range in San Mateo County, 
by Dr. H. W. Harkness. Report State Board of Horticulture. 188.?. pp. 54, 55. 

310 



REQUIREMENTS OF THE PLUM 31 1 

LOCALITIES FOR THE PLUM 

The plum has an exceedingly wide range in California. The trees 
are thrifty and profitable even from the immediate vicinity of the coast 
and in coast valleys, where the sea winds and fogs intrude, eastward 
across the great interior valleys, and upwards upon the sides of the 
Sierra Nevada. In the upper half of the State, at least, wherever there 
is sufficient moisture in the soil, good plums can be grown. The tree 
is quite hardy, but in situations open to the sweep of the winds there 
has been found to be decided advantage in belts of sheltering trees for 
protection. At some points subject to direct coast influences, there is 
sometimes loss by cracking of the fruit. It is seldom encountered in 
the interior valley, except near the rivers or in draws where the damp 
coast air makes its way through. It seems to be worst where there are 
marked differences in atmospheric humidity within short periods of 
time. Where the percentage is (|uite uniformly high or low there seems 
to be less trouble. Some years conditions usually restricted to more ex- 
posed coast situations prevail in the interior valley, and the result is 
unusual prevalence of mildew and other moist fungi and cracking of 
fruit also, though they have no relation to each other except that the 
same conditions favor both. Only certain varieties are thus affected, 
and they can be avoided where the trouble is found to exist. 

It was for a long time held that southern California was not adapted 
to the growth of the plum, but the experience of the last few years 
has shown that the conclusion was too broad. The "French prune" 
demonstrated its success adjacent to the Coast in Santa Barbara 
County, and elsewhere, in the low, rich lands of the Santa Ana Valley, 
of Orange County, in the interior at various points on the rim of the 
San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, notably at Pomona, and 
still farther inland in the San Bernardino Valley, but the Southern 
California prune product is small because the land and water can be 
more ])rofitably used for other fruits. There is, however, difficulty in 
some dry uplands where the tree is shy in fruiting and subject to serious 
gumming ; but this is encountered locally in all parts of the State. Irri- 
gation does not always overcome these troubles, and yet, no doubt, the 
arrangement of proper moisture conditions is important. The tree 
should be helped to make one good growth and to ripen its wood in the 
fall. To have growth checked by drouth and a second start made later 
in the season is not desirable. 

Still it must be admitted that prune planting in the interior, pro- 
ceeding with such rapidity, has encountered some soils and situations 
in which bearing has not been altogether satisfactory. New planters 
should confer with older residents before making investments in prune 
planting in interior valleys and foothills. 

All the foregoing observations are based upon the behavior of 
plums of European origin ; descendants of the prunns domestica. One 



312 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

of the grandest contributions to the extension of the range of the plum 
in California was the introduction of the Asiatic species, primus, triflora 
and simoni. Varieties of these species directly introduced or locally 
developed by Burbank and others, have proved productive in places 
where the domestica varieties were abandoned as shy or sterile. To 
estimate the value of these varieties one has only to visit the home fruit 
gardens of southern California or inspect the fruit stands of Los An- 
geles which are continuous exhibits of fine specimens of these varie- 
ties in their seasons. Even in places where the domestica varieties are 
largely grown the Asiatic varieties are also prominent as is shown by 
the fact that the Wickson, a Burbank triflora-simoni hybrid, is the 
leading shipping plum of California, and shipping plums are chiefly 
grown in the central and northern regions of the State. Other notable 
Burbank plums of recent introduction will be included in the descrip- 
tions of varieties at the close of this chapter. 



SOILS AND STOCKS FOR THE PLUM 

With the plum, as with the apricot, the subject of soils and stocks 
are intimately related, but the whole matter has been wonderfully sim- 
plified by the experience of the last few years. This relief has come 
through the adoption of the myrobalan, or cherry plum (Prunus myro- 
balana) as a general all-around stock for plums and prunes. Before 
this practice was taken up the effort to grow the plum on its own roots 
generally resulted in getting an orchard full of suckers, and to avoid 
this, plums were worked on peach roots wherever this root would suc- 
ceed in the soil to be planted. But some varieties of plums do not take 
kindly to the peach, and then "double working" (putting first on the 
peach a plum which is known to take well and then on that plum wood 
the variety desired) was followed. The use of the myrobalan does 
away with the suckering nuisance and the need of double working. 

There was considerable discussion a few years ago as to what is the 
true myrobalan, and it must be acknowledged that some of the refined 
distinctions formerly claimed have been abandoned. Seedlings grown 
from the seed of the myrobalan vary as do other fruit seedlings, both 
in fruit and in foliage and habit of trees, and perhaps this fact has given 
rise to the distinction between "true" and "false" myrobalan, so-called. 
Practice has proceeded without much reference to the discussion, and 
our nurserymen now have large, thrifty myrobalan trees from which 
they secure their seed supply. Growing stock from myrobalan cuttings 
is but little practiced. The myrobalan is now the accepted plum stock 
for California, except in light, alluvial, well drained soils, where, for the 
French prune, peach or almond may be preferred. Though described 
by some authorities as a dwarfing stock, it is found to be sufficiently 
free growing in California to suit all purposes, and to form a good 



l-kUNING THE PRUNE 313 

foundation for full standard trees, though the peach and almond roots 
in proper soils give a quicker and greater growth. Experience has 
shown that the myrobalan root thrives in this State both in low, moist, 
valley lands, in comparatively dry lands, and in stiff upland soils. 

In some soils especially adapted to the peach, peach roots are pre- 
ferred as stock for the French prune, but, as already said, all plums can 
not be worked directly on the peach root, the Robede Sergeant, Colum- 
bia, Yellow Egg, Washington, and Sugar Prune, for example. Some- 
times the bud or scion may make a large growth, but the two woods do 
not unite, and the trees break off sooner or later. 

Some work the plum on the apricot root, and report success when 
the soil suits the apricot root, and the gophers do not get at it. But it 
sometimes happens that the French prune parts from the apricot root 
even after growing some time upon it. There are, however, instances 
of the French prune thriving, and, apparently making good union with 
the apricot root and some of the softer wood varieties, like the Sugar 
Prune, take kindly to it. 

Some plums do well on the almond root and some do not. The 
French prune succeeds admirably both when worked on young almond 
stocks and top grafted in old almond trees. Success is also reported 
with the Felenberg on the almond. But the almond root is suited espe- 
cially for warm, dry soils. Excellent results from the use of almond 
stock are reported from the interior valley and the Sierra foothills. 

Propagating by Sprouts. — The French practice of growing cer- 
tain varieties of the plum by means of sprouts from the base of old trees 
has been successfully followed in this State by Felix Gillet, of Nevada 
City, and was strongly commended by him as securing a tree which will 
not gum, which is one of the reasons why the same practice prevails in 
France, Sprouts growing at the foot of old and large trees, and but 
few are found to each tree, are taken oft' and planted close together in 
a bed to make them root well, and the ensuing spring planted in nur- 
sery rows, where they are trained like any other trees, and transplanted 
where to remain, when branched. For this method it is necessary that 
the parent tree should be upon its own roots, else one is apt to get 
suckers from a wild stock. Sprout-grown trees can not, however, be 
defended unless some special point like that claimed by Mr. Gillet can 
be attained by them. 

PLANTING AND PRUNING 

As with other trees, there is difference of opinion as to the best dis- 
tance apart for plum trees. The present tendency is toward wider 
planting; not nearer than twenty feet is the usual advice, and on rich 
land, twenty-two or twenty-four feet is better. 

The plum, in California, is a most rapid grower ; six to ten feet from 
the bud or graft in a season, and about as much after the first winter's 



314 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

cutting back, is not at all unusual. At this rate of progress, then the 
tree soon runs up and away, in a spindling, sprawling fashion, unless 
severely cut back for the first few years. Neglected trees of some va- 
rieties show long, streaming branches, arching outward, and exposing 
the bark to sunburn (to which it is very sensitive), breaking the tree 
to pieces as the fruit gets weight, and, even if supported by props, 
breaking off at the bearing of the prop. This condition of the tree 
can only be obviated by low heading and moderate cutting back each 
year, with due regard to limiting the amount of bearing wood to get 
large fruit. For such plum varieties the suggestions on forming the 
tree and subsequent treatment in the chapter on pruning will be found 
helpful. This reference to repressive treatment for brittle-wood plums 
is emphasized by experience with the Sugar Prune of which Mr. 
Leonard Coates of Morgan Hill says : 

"The sugar prune is a great bearer, but the tree must receive very different 
pruning from that of the French prune. The annual growth must be short- 
ened in every winter from one-half to two-thirds, and all laterals and fruit spurs 
must be cut back at every pruning. Of course, judicious thinning out of wood 
is also needed. This will result in a very large, showy, product for long- 
distance shipments, as fresh fruits, which have brought satisfactory returns." 

Pruning the French Prune. — Growers of the French prune, and 
other varieties of similar growth of strong and pliable wood, have 
reached substantial agreement as to the best practice. The old method 
of cutting back bearing trees has been abandoned. Cutting back the 
young tree to secure sufficient low branching is followed by thinning 
of shoots from this low head so that the tree shall not become too 
dense or carry too much bearing wood. The strength in the head de- 
pends upon proper spacing and arrangement of the branches as insisted 
upon in the chapter on pruning ; and large, well-ripened fruit, which is 
essential to successful and profitable drying, is conditioned upon avoid- 
ing excess of branches and admission of sufficient light to the tree. 

A rather longer central stem is retained than in the old style, and 
a central stem throughout is admissible if one prefers it and does not 
desire to dispense with it as the first step toward securing a more open 
tree. Some retain the longer stem at planting, others ctit back to 
eighteen inches, develop three side branches upon that and train the 
branch from the top bud for a lengthening of the stem, and bring out 
more branches upon that the second year, and then dispense with its 
farther extension. The engravings on page 317 show this method of 
developing the head of a young French prune. The tree was cut back 
at planting in orchard to a straight switch about eighteen inches high, 
At the end of the first summer this showed the form in the first picture, 
which is marked for the first winter pruning. The second engraving 
shows the branching developed from this during the second summer's 
growth, also marked to prune away some undesirable branches. Upon 
a tree of this form farther cutting back is not desirable as it has enough 
well-placed branches to form the tree. 



I'RUNIXn IHK PRi;XK 



315 







• -^;^ . ..... , 



*•/•..••>»•. 



■i. i-'-'^ ' 






->«"• 



Young and old French Prune trees, never pruned and assuming natural form. 



How long cutting- back shall continue depends partl\- upon the local- 
ity and partly upon the notion of the owner. In interior localities the 
tree grows with great rapidity and branches more freely. During the 
third summer it will bear some fruit if not cut back the previous winter, 
and, where growth is so rapid, there is little danger of injuring the 
tree by early bearing. In the coast valleys cutting back may continue 
another year, and fruiting be thus postponed a year to get another 
summer's freer wood growth. 

Though cutting back may properly cease early with the French 
prune, it is a great mistake to allow the trees to go unpruned. Removal 
of defective wood, prevention of branch crow^ding and overbearing 
are of the highest importance, as insisted upon in the chapter on prun- 
ing. 

Special Study of Varieties in Pruning. — The points just ad- 
vanced apply especially to the management of the French prune. In 



316 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 







'K\-VA 111/ 1' 
"t .^-^^ '^'o sd/ 



•'»'* 



^■"fe.^i 




Young and old French Prune trees rationally pruned for number and spacing of branches. 



addition to what has been already said about the Sugar prune, the 
grower must be exhorted to study the habit of the variety he has to 
deal with. The general rules for handling trees with different habits 
of growth are applicable to a certain extent to the plum. When to 
apply a rule or make an exception must be learned by observation and 
experience. Some plums, like the Silver prune, have something of the 
growth habit of the peach, and this is also very true of some of the 
Japanese varieties. Cutting back in winter and pinching in summer 
are both useful facts in securing lower branching and low-growing 
fruit spurs. 

Grafting the Plum. — The plum has been grafted and regrafted 
in the constant effort to secure varieties promising superiority in va- 
rious directions. Within the scope of their affinities plums graft easily 
by common top-grafting methods, and if the roots are strong the 
new growth is so rapid as to need special attention. Mr. Luther 



SECURING FORM IN I'RINF, TREES 



Bowers gives these hints about pruning such growths: "From practical 
experience I have found out that the Sugar prune wood should only 
be summer pruned and only cut while the shoots are tender, or so 
soft that the top can be pinched out; this will cause the top to be well 





Pruning after first summer's 
growth in orchard. 



Growth during second summer 
in orchard. 



branched and this should be done at least twice during the first year 
of the graft. This system will avoid long, slender limbs. After a 
graft is two years old I would never cut the top off of a limb. If a 
tree gets too thick a top, T would cut out some of the main branches." 



THE PLUMCOTS 



One of the most striking achievements of Air. Burbank from the 
fruit grower's point of view is the cross of the plum and the apricot, 
which he has very fitly named the "plumcot." He has combined in a 
single fruit enough of the diverse characters of two fruits so that the 
ordinary observer can recognize the combination clearly and distin- 



318 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

guish the gift of each to it. Mr. Burbank has secured several such 
crosses, the first of which to be made pubhc is the "Rutland," intro- 
duced by Mr. George C. Roeding'in 1907. The fruit is about the size 
of an ordinary apricot with a deep purple velvety skin. One of its 
striking features is its brilliant red flesh possessed of a strong sub- 
acid flavor rendering it suitable for cooking, jellies and jams, and it is 
in good demand for such uses. When fully ripe, it is an excellent 
dessert fruit possesing an apricot-plum flavor. Obviously the amalga- 
mation of the apricot and the plum mu.st produce a fruit unique in 
character, hence its economic value is a matter still largely to be de- 
termined by its development and the exploitation of its uses. 



HOW A PRUNE QUEST DISTURBED THE PLUM FAMILY 
IN CALIFORNIA 

Referring to the distinction between plums and prunes cited at the 
opening of this chapter, and to the extent and methods of the great 
prune industry of the State which will appear later, in Part Eight of 
this work, it may be stated here that the California prune product was 
obviously undertaken in emulation of the globe-trotting French prune, 
which had attained position as the leading commercial dried fruit of 
the world long before California arose on the horticultural horizon. 
Naturally, French settlers in California bethought themselves of trans- 
planting this great industry to their new home, and Mr. Louis Pellier 
introduced scions from the district of Agen to his place near San Jose 
in 1856. The product was good, and planting for a large output was 
entered upon, though slowly at first. There was disappointment over 
the fact that, while all fruits came surprisingly large in California, the 
dried prunes were smaller than the great French prunes in cartons 
and cannisters which sold for great prices. Had we secured the true 
French prune ; did they not have larger ones which they were holding 
back from us ? This was the great question of five decades ago. Some 
nurserymen of that day had spirits of enterprise larger than their 
consciences. If the people demand larger prunes they must have them, 
surely. Because of the small average size of the prunes of Pellier's 
introduction, they christened that variety "petite prune d'Agen," which 
was subsequently corrupted into "petty prune" — a free translation and 
a mispronunciation at the same time, for a prune which seemed to be 
too small and inferior. The people must have something large, and 
they happened to mix a little German into the title which they manu- 
factured, and offered trees of the "gros prune d'Agen." When shown 
that if the French had such fruit it would probably be called "grande" 



PLUMS WHICH ARE NOT PRUNES 319 

and not "gros," because the French word "gros" is not a complimen- 
tary term, the propagators simply changed their geographical base and 
declared: "This immense prune, just what you need to beat the French, 
is really German, and if you desire you may call it Hungarian prune." 
It of course did not matter much what it was called, because it did not 
come from either France or Hungary, but was the fine, old large light 
red, English plum, properly called Pond's Seedling, re-christened in 
California to meet a long-felt want. But it did not meet such a want : 
it would not dry sweet nor fleshy, but became merely a skin and pit, 
with a sour streak between. Still the question persisted : Have we the 
true French prune? It was definitely settled by the late W. B. West of 
Stockton, who visited France in 1878, and after close examination of 
the trees, announced that the variety grown in California was really 
the prune d'Agen, and that we had made no mistake so far as getting 
the main standard variety of French prune was concerned. 

But still we needed a variety which would run more to large sizes, 
and how to get it, with sweetness and flesh, characters which would 
resemble the best French product, was, and even now is, still a question. 
One of the early introductions to meet this end is now generally known 
as Robe de Sergeant. Here again confusion attends the name. Robe 
de Sergeant is one of the synonyms of prune d'Agen, and yet the fruit 
we secured was different. j\Iuch discussion was given to the elucida- 
tion of this problem, and the conclusion seemed to be that the variety 
is grown in France, but in another district, and is generally considered 
inferior to the prune d'Agen. Still it runs larger, and has sold well, 
even though of distinctly different quality, and would probably have 
cut a much larger figure in California prune production if it had shown 
itself to be more free and regular in bearing. The same is true of the 
"prune d'ente, or Imperial epineuse," which has been quite widely 
planted, but because of shy bearing, especially when attacked by the 
thrips, as discussed upon another page of this book, and because of the 
difficulty in drying such a large prune which ripens rather late, this 
variety, of which so nuich was expected, has fallen into disfavor, and 
many of which were grafted in have been grafted out again. Other 
introductions made much earlier, like the German and Italian, also fell 
out of the race very early, for shy l)earing and for different flesh char- 
acters. Although the latter leads in Oregon and other States north of 
us, it is out of California calculations. The conclusion of the whole 
matter now is that we have never secured from abroad a better than the 
one which came 50 years ago — ^the true prune d'Agen. We have 
learned to grow it better, to seek places where it comes larger and in 
full quality ; to use irrigation when it is needed by the tree to do its 
best ; to guard against overbearing by reducing the amount of bearing 
wood and excessive branching; to strengthen the soil by fertilization, 
and to grade the fruit into sizes which commend themselves to differ- 



320 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ent demands. Here we are again, doing our main business at the old 
stand, but knowing how to do it better. Have we anything more to 
expect? Probably nothing from old varieties, for we have prospected 
them all from a prune-making point of view, taking Coe's Golden Drop 
plum, or its seedling, for the Silver Prune, and canceling all others 
as possibly good plums for various uses, but not for prunes. 

Probably our only expectation lies along the line of plant breeding, 
although nothing to supplant the prune d'Agen has yet been attained. 
The Giant prune is a large red plum ; several Oregon prunes are simply 
large red plums. The standard of sugar in the prune d'Agen as grown 
in California is from 15 to 23 per cent of sugar in the fresh juice, ac- 
cording to degree of ripeness and localities in which the fruit is grown. 
The sugar in Pond's Seedling and in the large red plums just named 
is less than 10 per cent — sometimes very much less. But percentage 
of sugar in the juice is not the whole story; there are tissue or flesh 
characters which are essential also. Mr. Burbank's Sugar prune an- 
swers the sugar requirement ; it is a free bearer and early ripening va- 
riety, and it dries easily though large ; but it has not the fine grain 
nor distinctive flavor of the prune d'Agen, and it becomes a good plum 
for shipping and possibly for other plum purposes. But Mr. Burbank 
has many of the plum family in training, and it would not be surpris- 
ing if he should announce at any time a variety educated fully up to the 
very definite California requirements, which he fully understands. 
Others are also working at the problem, and the next generation of 
California prune growers may attain what the last and present have 
striven for. The most promising line at the present time is the search 
for better types of the prune d'Agen which are found here and there, 
arising from natural variation. Mr. Leonard Coates of Morgan Hill, 
is giving particular attention to this subject. 



POLLINATION OF PLUMS 

The shy bearing of certain plums is probably due to lack of pollina- 
tion, either through the self-sterility of the variety or lack of acceptable 
pollinating agencies. Bearing can be induced in many cases, no doubt, 
by either planting or grafting-in of effective pollinating varieties. But 
this is not always profitable. For instance, there are many instances 
proving that the Tragedy can be brought to greater bearing by the 
presence of 'Clyman, but an early variety like the Clyman is not worth 
growing for sale in a late district, though in an early district both are 
valuable as shipping plums and should be planted together. The polli- 
nation of plums has not been given as much attention as of other fruits. 



POPULAR PLUMS 



321 



Plums and Prunes Approved by California Growers. 





Upper 


Central 


Interior 


Mountain 




VARIETIES 


coast 


coast 


valley and 


valleys and 


Southern 




valleys. 


valleys. 


foothills. 


plateaux. 


California. 


Abundance 






* 




** 


Agen, Prune d' 


** 


** 


** 


** 


** 


Bradshaw 


* 


* 


* 


** 




Burbank 


* 


* 


** 


* 


** 


Chabot 










* 


Climax 






** 






Clyman 




* 


** 






Coe's Late Red 






* 






Columbia 


** 


* 


* 


** 


* 


Dam-^on 


* 


* 


* 


* 


** 


Diamond 






** 






Duane Purple 




* 


** 


* 




German Prune 


* 


* 
* 


** 


* 




Giant 




* 


Golden Drop, Coe's . . . 


** 


** 


* 


** 




Golden Prune 


* 


* 




♦ 




Grand Duke 




* 


** 






Green Gage 




* 


* 


* 


* 


Hale 










** 


Imperial Epineuse 


* 


** 


* 






Imperial Gage 






* 






Italian Prune 


* 


* 




* 




Jefferson 


* 


** 


* 








* 


** 


** 


** 


** 


Peach 


* 


* 


** 


* 




Pond (Hungarian) 


* 


** 


** 


** 


* 


Red June 




* 


** 




* 


Robe de Sergeant 




♦ * 


** 






Royal Hative 






** 




* 


Satsuma 


* 


* 


* 




** 


Silver 


* 


* 


* 






Simon 






** 




** 


Sugar 


* 


** 


** 






Tragedy 




* 


** 






Washington 


* 


** 


* 


* 


* 


Wickson 


* 


** 


** 


* 


** 


Yellow Egg 


* 


** 


** 


** 





♦Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. 
**Most highly commended. 



VARIETIES OF PLUMS AND PRUNES 

As with other fruits, comparatively few varieties of the plum 
are largely grown in California, and the list is continually being 
reduced. The following tabulation is the result of a very wide 
inquiry made during the year 1907 : 

Simon (Prunus Simoni). — Medium to large, roundish, flattened, with cavities 
at base and apex; brick red, small yellow spots; stalk stout and short; flesh yel- 
low, adhering to flattened pit; largely grown for shipment in early interior re- 
gions where it has good quality; lacks flavor and cracks badly near the coast. 

Climax (Burbank). — Large; very early; heart-shaped; deep red; flesh yellow. 
Popular for shipping in places where it does not crack badly. 



322 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Clyman (California seedling introduced by Leonard Coates). — Large, round- 
ish oblong, flattened suture indistinct ; mottled reddish purple, beautiful blue 
bloom; freestone; flesh firm, dry and sweet; prolific; the leading early plum for 
shipment. 

Red June (Japanese). — Medium to large, deep red flesh light yellow, firm, 
good quality. The best of the early Japanese plums. 

Tragedy (California seedling). — Medium to large, suture shallow, wide and 
extending beyond aoex ; dark purple ; flesh yellowish green, sweet and well flav- 
ored : freestone. Very valuable for shipping from early regions in all parts of 
the State. 

Abundance (Japanese) ; syns. Yellow-fleshed Botan, Mikado of Hinclay. — 
Large, globular with point at apex; cherry color covered with white bloom; 
flesh yellow, juicy and rich. Popular for shipment from early regions. 

California Red (California seedling). — Introduced by J. T. Bogue, of Marys- 
ville. Large, light red, firm flesh and small pit. A good shipping plum. 

Peach (French, prune peche). — Very large, roundish oblate, regular, flattened 
at ends ; suture distinct, shallow ; color varying from salmon to light brownish 
red ; stalk very short, cavitv narrow, shallow, flesh rather coarse, juicy sprightly, 
free from the nearly round, very flat, much furrowed stone ; shoots smooth. A 
prominent variety for early eastern shipment. 

Rayale Hativc (French). — Medium roundish, slightly wider at base; light 
purple, stalk half an inch long, stout, scarcely sunk ; flesh amber yellow, with rich, 
high flavor, nearly free from the small, flattened, ovate stone; shoots very 
downy. Grown as an early market plum for eastern shipment. 

Bradshazv.—\.?Lrg.&, obovate, with obtuse suture on one side, sometimes with 
very slight neck; dark purple, with light blue bloom; stalk three-fourths inch 
long; cavitv narrow; flesh a little coarse, becoming light brownish purple, at 
first adhering, but becoming nearly free when fully ripe; juicy, good, slightly 
acid ; tree vigorous ; shoots purple, smooth. Reported from Sacramento county 
as blooming late and seldom injured by frost. Not in high favor. 

Green Gage (French).— Rather small, round; suture faint green, becoming 
yellowish green, usually with reddish brown dots and network at base ; stalk 
half to three-fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh pale green, melting, juicy, ex- 
ceedingly rich, and flavor excellent ; shoots smooth. 

Burbank. — Tree imported from Japan by Luther Burbank. Named "Bur- 
bank" by Professor Van Deman. Tree usuallv vigorous, with strong, upright 
shoots, and large, rather broad leaves ; comes into bearing very early. Almost 
globular, being five and a half inches around horizontally, and five_ and five- 
eighths inches around vertically; rich cherry red, slightly mottled with yellow, 
and freely dotted with same tint; flesh deep yellow, juicy, very sweet, and of fine, 
somewhat peculiar, but very agreeable flavor ; pit is very small, three-fourths by 
a trifle over half an inch in diameter. 

Duane's Purple (New York). — ^Very large, oblong oval, longer on one side; 
slightly narrowed towards the stalk; reddish purple, bloom lilac; stalk three- 
fourths inch; slender; cavity narrow, flesh juicy, moderately sweet, and mod- 
erate flavor, mostly adhering to stone; shoots very downy and leaves large and 
downy underneath. 

Washington (New York). — Very large, roundish oval, suture obscure, dis- 
tinct at base ; yellowish green, faintly marbled, often with pale red blush ; stalk 
half to three-fourths inch ; slightly downy ; cavity wide, shallow ; flesh rather 
firm, sweet, mild, very rich and luscious, free from the pointed stone; shoots 
downy; very vigorous. 



POPULAR PLUMS 



323 



Wickson.—A crossbred by Luther Burbank ; form suggests the Kelsey, but 
more symmetrical; in ripening the color develops from a deep cherry red down 
to a rich claret as full ripeness is attained. The color is solid and uniform. The 
flesh is of amber tint, very juicy and translucent: the pit is small and shapely, 
the flavor is striking and agreeable, but likely to be deficient near the coast. The 
most popular shipping plum in the State. 




Burbank's Wickson Plum. 



Ycllozv Egg; syns. White Egg, IVhitc Magiiu>n Bonum (English). — Very 
large, oval, narrow at ends, necked at base, suture distinct; stalk one inch, not 
sunk, surrounded by fleshy ring at insertion ; light yellow, bloom thin, white, 
flesh firm, rather acid until fully ripe, and then sweet, adheres to the pointed 
stone. 

Jefferson (New York). — Large, oval, base slightly narrowed, suture slight; 
greenish yellow, becoming golden, with reddish cheek; bloom thin, white; stalk 
one inch, but little sunk or not at all; flesh rich yellow, very rich, juicy, high 
flavored and luscious, adheres partly to its long, pointed stone; shoots smooth; 
tree a slow grower, but productive. 

Columbia (New York). — Very large, nearly globular, one side slightly larger; 
brownish purple, reddish brown where much shaded, with many fawn-colored 
dots ; bloom blue, copious ; stalk one inch, rather stout ; cavity small ; flesh 
orange, very rich and sweet, free from the stone, which is very small and com- 
pressed. Shoots downy, stout, blunt, spreading; leaves nearly round. 

Satsuma; syn. Blood Plum of Satsuma. — Introduced and first fruited in this 
countrv by Luther Burbank. of Santa Rosa. Descril)ed by Prof. H. E. Van 
Deman, U. S. Pomologist, as follows : "Leaves more lanceolate than those of 
Kelsey; fruit averages about two and a quarter inches in diameter, nearly round, 
and but slightly sutured on one side; surface dark red. under a thick bloom; 
dots rather conspicuous and numerous ; flesh dark purplish red. which has caused 
the name of 'Blood Plum of Satsuma' to be given by some ; stone very small and 
pointed." Chiefly grown in southern California. 



324 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Red Magnum Bonum syn. Red Egg. — Large, oval, tapering to the stalk; suture 
strong, one side swollen ; deep red in the sun ; slight bloom ; stalk one inch, 
glender, cavity narrow ; flesh greenish, coarse, subacid ; shoots smooth. 

Imperial Gage (New York). — Medium size, oval, suture distinct; stalk three- 
fourths inch, slightly hairy, evenly sunk; green, slightly tinged with yellow, with 
marbled green stripes; bloom copious and white; flesh greenish, juicy, melting, 
rich, and delicious, usually free from the oval, pointed stone; tree very vigorous 
and productive; shoots long upright, slightly downy; leaves with slight shade 
of blue. A popular canning variety. 

Damson (English). — Small, roundish, oval; purple, with thick blue bloom; 
melting, juicy, subacid. 

German Prune (Common Qiietsche, Germany). — "This name has been applied 
in this State to numerous plums and prunes which are sold under it. The fruit 
of the true German prune is long oval, and swollen on one side ; skin purple, with 
thick blue bloom ; flesh firm, green, sweet, with a peculiar pleasant flavor ; sepa- 
rates readily from the stone." — JoJin Rock. Complaint is made in many localities 
of the tendency of the variety to drop before ripening, almost the whole crop 
sometimes dropping. 

Kelsey, Japan. — Trees brought from Japan by the late Mr. Hough, of Vaca- 
ville, in 1870, and purchased by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, who propa- 
gated and fruited them for several years. First wide distribution was made by 
W. P. Hammon & Co., in 1874, who named the fruit after Mr. Kelsey. The fol- 
lowing description is by H. E. Van Deman, U. S. Pomologist, from California 
and Florida specimens : "Tree upright in growth, leaves narrow, twigs brownish 
gray. Fruit from one and a half to two and a half inches diameter, heart-shaped, 
with a distinct suture on one side from stem to apex ; stem is short, and set in 
a depression at the larger end ; colors mixed yellow and purple, which vary in 
depth, but rarely make a brilliant appearance, covered with a bloom; flesh yellow, 
very firm, and clings to the stone, which is rather small, and nearly always partly 
surrounded by a cavity ; when fully ripe the quality is very good." Very widelv 
grown ; is in less favor than formerly in interior valleys where color is not well 
developed. Where the fruit is of good color it is profitable for shipping and is 
highly regarded everywhere for domestic use. 

Quackenbos (New York). — Large, oblong oval; deep purple; suture faint; 
stalk short, slightly sunk ; slightly coarse, sprightly, sweet and sub-acid ; partly 
freestone. 

Victoria (English). — Large, obovate, suture distinct; color a fine light reddish 
purple ; stem half inch, cavity rather deep and narrow ; flesh yellow, pleasant ; 
clingstone ; next to Pond's Seedling in size, beauty and productiveness. 

Hungarian Prune; English Pond's Seedling; Gros Prune d'Agen (English). 
This variety was brought to San Jose probably about 1856, and in some unac- 
countable way was first contrasted with the French prune and called the "great 
prune of Agen;" afterwards, also in a mysterious way, it took the name of 
"Hungarian prune." It is still marketed by these names both here and at the 
East. The true name is English Pond's Seedling. Fruit very large, ovate, 
slightly tapering to stalk ; skin thick, reddish violet, with numerous brown dots, 
and covered with handsome bloom; rather coarse, juicy, sweet; a very showy 
fruit; tree a strong grower and prolific bearer; fruit has a tendency to double; 
sells well in local and distant markets on its style and is largely grown. 

Giant. — Burbank seedling; very large, dark crimson upon yellow ground; 
flesh yellow, flavor good ; freestone. A shipping plum, disappointing as a drying 
plum. 

Splendor. — Burbank seedling; medium size but larger than French prune; 
clear red, drying dark, does not shake from the tree; earlier than French prune. 

Sugar. — Burbank seedling, introduced in 1898 ; large and sweet ; sugar in 
fresh fruit 23.92 per cent; not of highest quality as a cured prune but sells well; 
also good for shipping ; oval, slightly flattened ; dark purple with thick white 
bloom; freestone; early. 



POPULAR PLUMS 



325 



Imperial Epincuse sj-n. Clairac Mammoth. — Introduced in 1884 by Felix Gil- 
let and in 1886 by John Rock. Described by Mr. Rock as follows : "Uniformly 
large size, reddish or light purple, thin skin, sweet and high flavor." Described 
by Mr. Gillet : "Uniformly large, more oval than the French prune; nearly of 
the same color but somewhat lighter or reddish purple ; earlier than the French 
and with thinner skin." Fruit grown by Mr. Rock analyzed at the State Univer- 
sity in 1898, showed 20.4 per cent of sugar against 18.53 per cent average of 
three analyses of French prune. Largely planted and grafted in, in the Santa 
Clara Valley, as a drying prune but irregular in bearing. 

There has been quite widely planted another prune called Imperial which is 
verj' inferior in sugar content and likely to nrove much less satisfactory. 




Robe de Sergeant. 



Prune d'Agen. 



Prune d'Agen; S3'n. Petite Prune d'Agen; French Prune, etc. — This is the 
drying prune at present most widely grown in this State. It is described by 
John Rock as follows: "Medium-sized, egg-shaped, violet purple, very sweet, 
rich, and sugary ; very prolific bearer." The first trees of the kind were grown 
by Louis Pellier, at San Jose, about the year 1857, the graft having been brought 
from France by his brother in December. 1856. The identity of this variety 
(which was first largely grown in the neighborhood of San Jose) with the va- 
riet}' chiefly grown in the French district tributary to Agen, was first announced 
by W. B. West, of Stockton, in the year 1878, during his visit to. France. 

Robe de Sergeant. — Though this term is given in Downing as a synonym of 
prune d'Agen, and seems also to be in French a synonym for the d'Ente prunes ; 
another prune grown in this State from an importation by John Rock, is quite 
distinct from the foregonig. Mr. Rock describes the variety as follows : "Fruit 
medium size, oval; skin deep purple, approaching black, and covered with a thick 
blue bloom ; flesh greenish yellow, sweet, and well-flavored, sugary, rich and de- 
licious, slightly adhering to the stone." This variety makes a larger, darker- 
colored dried prune than the prune d'Agen, and has sold in some cases at a 



326 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

higher price. It has recently been in disfavor in coast valleys for defective bear- 
ing, but is more satisfactory at some interior points. 

Bulgarian. — "An undetermined variety grown under this name, chiefly in the 
vicinity of Haywards, Alameda County; above medium size; almost round; dark 
purple ; sweet and rich, with pleasant acid flavor ; tree a vigorous grower, and 
an early, regular and profuse bearer." — John Rock. 

Coe's Golden Drop (English).— Very large, oval, suture distinct, one side 
more enlarged, necked ; light yellow, often dotted red to the sun ; stalk three- 
fourths inch, rather stiff; flesh yellowish, firm, juicy, and rich, closely adhering 
to the pointed stone; shoots smooth, rather glossy. A standard late variety for 
canning. 

Silver Prune (Oregon).— Originated with W. H. Prettyman, who says: "It 
is a seedling from Coe's Golden Drop, which it much resembles, but it is much 
more productive." Profitable as a bleached prune, but defective in bearing in some 
California districts. A red variety by bud variation is reported by Mr. J. G. 
Grundel of Alma. 

Golden Prune. — Originated from seed of Italian prune by Seth Lewelling, 
of Milwaukee. Oregon, and described by him as larger than Italian ; light golden 
color; exquisite flavor; dries beautifully. 

Bavay's Green Gage; syn. Reine Claude de Bazvy (French). — Large, round 
oval, greenish yellov\-, spotted with red, with small violet-colored longitudinal 
veins; flesh rather firm, juicy, sugary, rich, of fine quality, adhering slightly to 
the stone; shoots smooth, leaves roundish, shining; a free-grower and very pro- 
ductive. 

Ickivorth Imperatrice (Englisji).- — Large to medium, obovate, purple, with 
irregular streaks of fawn color ; stalk medium ; flesh greenish yellow, sweet, 
juicy, rich, mostly adhering to the rather small stone; shoots smooth; very late, 
hangs long on the tree, and keeps well ; endures long shipment well. 

Fellenherg, syns. Large German Prune, Swiss Prune, Italian Prune. — Medium 
size, oval, pointed and tapering at both ends; suture small, distinct; dark purple, 
with dark blue bloom; stalk one inch, scarcely sunk; flesh greenish yellow, juicy, 
sweet, delicious, parts from the stone; tree a free grower and very productive; 
late, excellent for drying. But little grown in California, but largely in Oregon. 

Coe's Late Red, syn. Red St. Martin. — Size medium, roundish, suture distinct 
on one side ; skin light purplish red, or dark red ; bloom thin, blue ; stalk three- 
fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh rather firm, crisp, rich, vinous; very late, 
shoots downy. 

LUTHER BURBANK'S NEWER VARIETIES 

Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, has not only produced the lead- 
ing shipping plum of California, as already stated, but he has six 
others in the list of twenty varieties which are chiefly grown as 
plums and prunes. During the last few years he has introduced 
many other varieties not included in the foregoing list, which pos- 
sess striking characters and some of which will become famous. 
One of them is his new prune, the Standard, which was introduced 
in 1911-12. He has also a large collection of other plums, also plum- 
cots, and other fruits of most striking characters and promise. They 
must, however, endure the test of trial and await later credit. Seed- 
lings by other growers are also undergoing a similar ordeal. 

Two of Mr. Burbank's recent creations, introduced by Mr. 
George C. Roeding, are of striking characters, and are described as 
follows: 



rurbank's newer plums 327 

Santa Rosa. — "It is a fine grower, the wood is very tough and the limbs will 
not break. It is a sure, regular bearer and bears always most abundantly. It 
does not have any off years. The fruit runs remarkably fine, even in size, and 
astonishingly smooth and clear of any defects. It is beautiful, delicious, and a 
verv fine carrier to Eastern markets. It will keep well in hot weather for a 
week after it is ripe, so there is no occasion to pick it half ripe in order to ship. 
I intend to plant it very largely myself, and to the exclusion of all other shipping 
plums." — S. F. Leib. 

Formosa. — "Unusually large, thick, healthy, light green foliage; strong, hard, 
wiry wood ; blooms with the Burbank and Abundance, and always escapes late 
spring frosts, and always bears profusely even when continuous rainy weather 
prevents full pollination in most other plums. No disease has ever found lodg- 
ment with Formosa. The fruit is of uniform size, averaging about six inches 
in circumference one way by eight the other. Fruit yellow with a pale bloom 
until nearly ripe, turning to a clear rich red. Flesh pale yellow, unusually firm, 
sweet, rich, delicious, with a delightful apricot flavor, nearly freestone. Formosa 
has been very thoroughly tested for its keeping qualities, which are unequaled 
except by Santa Rosa, \Vickson, Burbank, and a few others." — Liithcr Burbank. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE QUINCE 

The quince enjoys California conditions to the utmost, and re- 
wards the grower with large crops of very large and beautiful fruit. 
A quince weighing a pound is no curiosity, and it is unlikely that 
any city of the world can show such fine quinces at such low prices 
as San Francisco. The lesson from this fact is that the fineness of 
the fruit, and the evident adaptation of the State to its growth, 
should not alone be considered by the planter. The local consump- 
tion of quinces is naturally small, and it is chiefly for home preserv- 
ing jelly making. The commercial jelly makers use apple juice as 
the basis of nearly all their jellies, only using a little quince for fla- 
voring, and some housewives follow the same course. The hope for 
profitable sale of the fruit in large quantities must therefore rest on 
distant markets, and though those well acquainted with the growth 
and sale of the fruit in the cities of the Mississippi Valley, have pre- 
dicted a great demand for the California quince in that territory 
experiences of shippers thus far have been varied, and not such as 
to induce the extension of our quince production, at present at 
least. 

But though the quince in California has at present narrow com- 
mercial limitations, a few trees should find a place in every orchard, 
for family use or local sale. 



CULTURE OF THE QUINCE 

The quince is readily grown from cuttings. Take good-sized 
shoots of well-matured wood of the current year's growth, after 
the leaves drop in the fall, and set out at once in nursery row in 
moist alluvial soil, or in any loose soil which is well drained and 
can be kept moist enough by cultivation or irrigation. 

Quinces are planted at all distances apart, and are grown either 
as bushes or trees. Undoubtedly the best way is to plant about 
fourteen or sixteen feet apart, and prune into low standard tree 
form. This can be done much as already advised for other fruit 
trees. An annual cutting back of about half of the new growth, 
while forming the tree, will strengthen the trunk and limbs and 
prevent the running out of long leaders, which droop to the ground 
on all sides when laden with fruit, and are often broken by the 
weight and the wind. Owing to the disposition of the quince to 
throw out several small shoots at a single point, it is advisable, when 

328 



VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE 329 

forming the tree, to remove all buds but one, just as the growth is 
starting. This will give one good, strong branch where it may be 
needed, instead of several weak ones. Pinching off shoots which 
start out too vigorously, or at undesirable points is, of course, ad- 
visable. 

Soils for the Quince. — As the quince grows naturally in moist, 
though not wet lands, many persons think it always does best in 
springy ground or along the banks of rivulets; but though moist 
soils are preferable to dry, such positions are not essential to ob- 
taining large crops of fine fruit. In fact, the quince, like most fruit 
trees, prefers a well-drained location, and does best on a soil which 
can be freely worked. It thrives when fanned by the ocean breeze 
and does fairly well in the interior, providing it has moisture in 
the soil, and in some situations will doubtless require summer 
irrigation. 

VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE 

Though notably all varieties of the quince are introduced by 
our nurserymen and carried by them in small stock, most planta- 
tions are of the "apple" or "orange" variety. The following may 
be enumerated, however, as growing in this State: 

Apple or Orange. — Large; bright yellow; the best. August and September. 

Rea's Mammoth. — A very large and fine variety of the Orange quince; a 
strong grower and very productive. 

5Hivr;ia.— Introduced from Smyrna in 1897 by George C. Roeding of Fresno ; 
large, lemon yellow, handsome, tender and delicious after cooking; keeps well; 
tree a strong grower, with heavy foliage. 

Pm^a/>/)/t'.— Originated by Luther Burliank and distributed by him in 1899; 
the result of a long effort to secure a quince which would cook tender like an 
apple. The name comes from its flavor, which is suggestive of the pineapple. 
Resembles Orange quince but is smoother and more globular. 

Portugal. — Very large, and fine flavor, turns a fine purple or deep crimson 
when cooked. 

The Chinese Quince. — A most extraordinary fruit, oblong, of immense size, 
often weighing from two to two and one-half pounds ; growth rapid and distinct. 

Wesfs Mammoth. — Originated by W. B. West, of Stockton, from seed re- 
ceived from Boston in 1853; of the Orange quince family; round, clear yellow; 
very large ; fine flavor and for the class a very good keeper. 

Champion. — Fruit very large, fair and handsome; tree very productive, sur- 
passing any other variety in this respect ; bears abundantly when young ; flesh 
cooks as tender as an apple, and without hard spots or cores ; flavor delicate, 
imparting an exquisite quince taste and odor to any fruit with which it is cooked. 



PART FOUR— THE GRAPE 
CHAPTER XXV 



THE GRAPE INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA 

The grape grows in all parts of California, from near sea level 
on the coast to an elevation of 5000 feet or more on the mountains. 
It is contented, too, with nearly all fertile soils, from the deep valley 
loams, where the great fat, firm-fleshed grapes are grown for raisin 
and table grape shipments, to the shallow soils of the high foothill 
and mountain slopes, where the grapes are less in quantity, but of 
superior aromatic qualities. This wide adaptation gives an im- 
mense area suited for grape culture, but the chief reason for the 
achievement and the promise of the grape in California is in the 
fact that the European species, Vitis vinifera, thrives, and thus the 
California grower has command of all that Europeans have accom- 
plished in centuries by developing special varieties of the species 
for special purposes. The grapes of the States east of the Rocky 
Mountains are only grown in California in a small way because the 
European varieties are the only ones from which raisins can be made ; 
they also furnish the world's wine and brandy, and they give size, 
beauty, and shipping quality beyond all comparison with American 
varieties. Wherever wealthy Eastern connoisseurs choose grapes 
for their glass houses, they select European varieties ; the Califor- 
nian grows his "hot house" grapes in the open air. He also grows 
most of them without the cost of trellising, because the European 
varieties generally will bear well in short-pruned bush form. Cali- 
fornia has a large acreage of grape vines, and planting has been 
very active during the last few years, because good prices have pre- 
vailed, especially through the increased opportunity for fresh grape 
shipments. At the same time, new economic and commercial problems 
are continually arising and the industry has to readjust itself to new 
conditions. Discussion of such problems does not come within the 
scope of a cultural treatise like this. It is the duty of the grower to 
keep himself up to date on such subjects by faithful reading of Cali- 
fornia periodicals and by participation in public assemblies in the grape 
interest. Concerning cultural difficulties, the protection of vine from 
its enemies and problems in vinification, special researches are con- 
stantly pursued by the University Experiment Station at Berkeley and 
publications arc furnished on application. 

330 



SOILS FOR THE GRAPE 331 

The culture of the grape is one of the g-reat branches of CaHfornia 
horticulture. Its three chief divisions are : Grapes for the table, grapes 
for wine, and grapes for raisins. In all these branches the product has 
far exceeded local requirements and has become an important item in 
the export trade of the State. The attainments of the industry can be 
roughly measured by the statistics of the shipments of grapes, raisins, 
wine and brandy, which are given at the close of Chapter VI. 



THE GRAPE AREA OF CALIFORNIA 

The grape has a very wide range in California. If the immediate 
seacoast and the higher altitudes on the mountains be excepted, the 
grape may be planted with a good chance of success anywhere if 
soil and local topography be suitable. As has been shown in Chapter 
I, the vine can approach quite close to the ocean if some shelter fronf 
prevailing cool winds be afforded, and quite high on the mountains if 
one keeps out of depressions where late frosts are frequent. In plant- 
ing the grape in doubtful situations much depends upon choice of 
proper varieties. For example, in the cool air of the coast region and 
the short summer of the higher altitudes, early maturing varieties must 
be the main reliance, for late sorts will not receive heat enough to bring 
them to full maturity. 

Away from immediate coast intlucnccs. and u]) to jKrhaps three 
thousand feet or more on the sides of the Sierra, the grape is success- 
fully grown both upon the floors of the valleys and upon the hillsides. 
But there is still need of choice both of special locations and of varie- 
ties according to the purposes which the grower has in view. The coast 
valleys of the upper part of the State produce good table grapes, but 
they are unfavorable for the raisin industry because of the deficient sun- 
shine and excessive atmospheric humidity of the autumn months. The 
best raisins are made in the dry, heated valleys of the interior, and the 
conditions which there develop the fullest quality of the raisin gra])e 
also develop the sugar in some kinds of wine grapes beyond a desir- 
able percentage. Here again the choice of suitable varieties intrudes 
itself, for the varieties which yield light table wines in the coast valleys 
may yield heavy "heady" wines in the interior. Valleys, too, as a rule, 
although they yield larger crops of grapes and greater measure of 
wine than similar area on the hillsides, must yield the palm for quality 
to the warm soils of the slopes. And here enters the business proposi- 
tion whether large amount and less quality is better than less amount 
and higher quality. To this there can be no general answer. It de- 
pends upon the disposition which is to be made of the crop, and the de- 
mand for it. 

The coloring of certain varieties is a matter underlying their profit- 
able production for fresh shipments and this is determined by local 



332 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



conditions concerning which the best information is actual observation 
of their effects. These few facts out of many which could be stated 
will serve to enforce the fact that wide as is the range of the grape, both 
localities and varieties for certain purposes must be intelligently chosen. 
Much has been learned during the last few years, but it will rquire 
the experience of another generation, perhaps, to make the matter clear. 






Cluster ready for thinning. Cluster after thinning. 

By thinning the grape cluster as shown, a superior cluster of ripe grapes 
can be secured. The removal of surplus fruits is done with narrow-blade 
scissors or with a sharp, narrow knife-blade. 



Soils for the Grape. — The grape will thrive on a great variety 
of soils, in fact, on any of those enumerated as fruit soils in Chapter 
III. There are thrifty vineyards on the light, deep valley loams, on the 
heavy clayey loams, on adobe, and on the red soils of the foothills. 
Even on shallow soils the grape will do well if given sufficient moisture, 
and on rocky subsoils it thrives if there be crevices for the roots to 
penetrate, or if the rock be shattered to admit the roots to permeable 



GRAPES FROM JULY TO JANUARY 333 

substrata. Standing water during the active period of the vine is, how- 
ever, unfavorable to growth, and alkali is adverse to satisfactory results 
in wine making. Almost any soil which does not hold excess of water 
or is not tainted with alkali will do for the vine, although the plant 
appreciates good, deep soil, and will grow and bear fruit in proportion 
to its supply of it. Of course the economic question of ease of culti- 
vation enters into the choice of soil for the grape, as for other fruits, 
but its claims are obvious and need not be enlarged upon. 

Length of the Grape Season. — By choice of early and late varie- 
ties the grape season extends over half a year in California, without 
recourse to artificial means of preservation. Where the fall rains are 
not very protracted, the late varieties sometimes remain in good con- 
dition on the vines until the winter pruning. Good grapes have been 
picked from the vines as late as the middle of January. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

PROPAGATING AND PLANTING VINES 

The grape is propagated from seed or by layers, or by cuttings of 
various lengths. Growing from seed was somewhat resorted to in 
California to get stocks for resisting the phylloxera, but such wide 
variation in resistance occurred in seedlings that propagation by cut- 
tings, of varieties demonstrated to be best in this regard, has become 
universal. There is at present little disposition to grow grape seed- 
lings in the hope of securing better and hardier varieties, as is so 
largely done in other parts of the country. The vast numbers of varie- 
ties of the European species, vinifcra, which we have to draw from, 
makes the effort for new seedlings of little object. 

Growing Vines from Seed, — Seed is easily removed from the 
grapes by crushing the berries and stirring the pulp rapidly in water. 
From one pound of good, fresh seed one might get from two to three 
thousand seedlings. Some advocate sowing grape seed in the fall, just 
as it is taken from the fruit, but best results are usually obtained by 
spring sowing, after danger from frost is over. It is advisable to 
keep grape seed moist for some time before sowing. Seed soaked one 
week in water, and afterward allowed to lie in a heap for three weeks 
germinates quickly, starting in ten days or two weeks after being put in 
the ground. Professor Husmann advised pouring hot water on the 
seed and allowing it to cool, the seed remaining in the water for twelve 
hours, and after that it is kept for a week in a sack, exposed to the sun, 
and covered at night, the sack being moistened from time to time. 

The seed should be sown in the open ground, the soil having been 
worked deeply and finely, as for a garden. Sow the seed about an 
inch apart, in drills far enough from each other to admit the use of the 
cultivator in the summer ; cover not to exceed an inch in depth, and 
after moderate pressing of the ground, cover the whole bed with rot- 
ten straw, which should be gradually removed as the sprouts appear 
above the ground. This mulch will not only retain moisture, but will 
prevent the surface from being crusted by heavy showers. Summer 
cultivation with cultivator and hoe should be given. 

Growing Vines by Layering. — This is another method of mul- 
tiplying vines which is but little employed in California, because it is 
so much easier to secure plants by cuttings, as the vinifera species roots 
so readily. Layering consists in bending down and burying one of the 
lower canes so as to facilitate top and root growth from each of the 
buds. To hold the cane in place, stakes are used, the trench being left 
open until the shoots grow out and then, by covering the roots are 

334 



WAYS TO GROW GRAPE VINES 335 

developed. The cane must rest in moist earth, and usuaUy has to be 
watered artificially, as well as treated to prevent evaporation. The 
following winter the cane is raised and a plant made at each node. 

Another use for layering- is to fill a vacancy in the row, a cane being 
taken from the nearest living vine. In this case the layer must be set 
in a deep trench so as not to be torn out by the plow, and the layered 
cane is at once covered in with earth, all but one or two buds at the 
extremity, where the new vine is desired. Such a layer usually bears 
the second year and is then detached from the parent vine. 

Both the layers described are laid down early in the spring, before 
growth starts in the vine. Summer layers of the current season's 
growth are sometimes made, but are not usually satisfactory. 

Growing Vines from Cuttings. — This is the prevailing method 
in this State both to secure grafting stocks and to grow vines on their 
own roots. In growing from cuttings, diflferent policies are adopted, 
i. e., placing the cuttings in permanent place in the vineyard, or root- 
ing them in nursery to be afterward transferred to the vineyard as 
"rooted vines." First, the various kinds of cuttings will be considered, 
and their placing mentioned later. 

Growth from Single Eyes. — The use of single eyes or single 
buds, the shortest possible form of cutting, is not large in California, 
but some growers have reported good results. The method is to pre- 
pare the cuttings with a half-inch or so of the cane on each side of the 
bud and plant them carefully, with the bud upwards, in well-prepared 
soil, covering the cutting completely, but very little under the surface. 
Success depends upon retention of moisture in the surface soil to in- 
duce rooting, and mulching is advisable. The method of propagation, 
too, seems best adapted to the moister parts of the State, whence, in 
fact, most success with it has been reported. Besides economy of 
wood in getting a plant from each bud of the cane, which is some- 
times an object, growing from single eyes is advocated because of the 
satisfactory root system secured, which much resembles that of a seed- 
ling. The use of single eyes is obviously better adapted to nursery 
than to field growth. 

The Use of Longer Cuttings.* — It was formerly considered good 
practice to leave a piece of old wood attached to the base of the cutting, 
on the ground that such cuttings always grew. This practice is now 
very generally abandoned, as it often gives rise to weak and diseased 
vines. The piece of old wood always decays finally, and the decay may 
spread into the trunk and roots of the vine. A good cutting should 

*Much of the following description of handling cuttings is taken bodily from the excel- 
lent University publications by Mr. F. T. Bioletti, viz.: Circular 26, "Selection and prepara- 
tion of Vine Cuttings." Bulletin 180, "Resistant Vineyards — grafting, planting, cultivation." 
Bulletin 193, "The Best Wine Grapes for California," etc. All these contain discussions of 
propagation methods. 



336 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



consist exclusively of one-year-old wood ; that is, the wood which has 
grown during the previous season. 

The form and length of the cuttings will depend on the use that is 
to be made of them. If they are to be used as scions for grafting 




Properly made cuttings. 

they may be cut up in any way and of any length that is found conven- 
ient for handling and keeping them in good condition. If they are to 
be used for rooting either in the nursery or the vineyard it is most 
convenient to cut them up into the exact lengths which are to be 
planted. 

The length will depend altogether on the soil and climate where 
they are to be planted. They should be of such a length that when 



MAKING GRAPE CUTTINGS 337 

planted the base of the cutting- will be at the level where the conditions 
are most favorable to root formation. If the base is too deep, it will 
be too wet and too cold to develop roots. Roots will start higher up 
and the bottom part will be wasted, or worse still, may decay and in- 
jure the vine. If the base is too near the surface the whole cutting 
may dry out and die before its roots have developed sufficiently to 
supply it with water. 

In the moister soils of the cooler districts a cutting 10 inches long 
is sufficient for direct planting in the vineyard. In the drier and 
warmer interior a 14-inch to 16-inch cutting is better, while in the 
driest soils of the warmest districts it is often necessary to have a cut- 
ting 18 to 20 inches long. For planting in the nursery a 12 or 14-inch 
cutting is about the most convenient. If the soil of the nursery is wet 
and cold more of the cutting should be left above ground; if, on the 
contrary, the soil tends to be hot and dry the cutting must be planted 
deeper and even covered up completely. 

It is not necessary, or possible, to make every cutting of exactly 
the same length, because they should all terminate at each end at a 
node. A vine cane consists of nodes where the buds are and intcrnodes 
between them. The pith is interrupted at each node by a woody parti- 
tion (called the "diaphragm") which extends through the cane at each 
bud. In making a cutting, therefore, we should cut exactly through 
a bud both at the top and at the bottom. This will leave the woody 
partitions, which will prevent decay at the bottom and drying out at 
the top. If removed, the pith in the upper internode will be exposed 
to alternate wetting and drying, and may decay, thus weakening or 
killing the bud below. 

In planting, the cutting should be placed with just one bud above 
the surface of the ground, as indicated by the dotted line in the accom- 
panying engraving. It is a great mistake to leave more than one bud 
out of the ground, as this increases the danger of drying out. 

Making and Caring for Cuttings. — Cuttings can be taken from 
the vines at any time after the fall of the leaf and before the spring 
flow of sap begins. The earlier cuttings — ^those taken before January 
— are more likely to make a successful start and after-growth than 
those cut later in the season. 

It is common, however, to defer preparation of cuttings till the 
pruning is done, be it early or late, and this will generally answer the 
purpose, if care be taken to secure the cuttings immediately at the 
pruning; but if the branches be allowed to lie upon the ground for 
days, exposed to sun, wind, or frost, before the cuttings are secured, 
their chances of growth are seriously lessened, and a good part of the 
failures in planting are due to such cuttings. 



338 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Cuttings should be taken from the short-jointed, well-ripened wood 
of the previous year's growth, cut squarely and smoothly as already 
described. Cuttings from the outer ends of long canes are not so likely 
to root, nor to grow so vigorously, as those from stronger wood, from 
three-eighths to five-eighths of an inch in diameter generally. 

Keep them dormant until the time comes to set them in the vine- 
yard, else the tender shoots may get broken. To keep them back, place 
them, at the pruning in trenches, about as deep as the length of the 
cuttings, on the north side of a close board fence or a building, cover 
with loose earth, and over that throw some straw and boards. Take 
care that the trenches are in moist but not wet ground as too much 
moisture rots the cuttings. If the ground has not been moist enough, 
and the cuttings seem dry or withered, plunge them in water to within 
three or four inches of their top, for a few days before setting, and 
do not let them dry again before planting. 

Rooting Cuttings in Nursery. — A\'hat has been written is in 
reference to cuttings designed for placing in permanent position in the 
vineyard, but, for the most part, applies as well to the preparation of 
cuttings for the nursery. For nursery treatment, however, shorter 
cuttings can be used than for field planting, because of the better cul- 
tivation and more generous moisture conditions which are usually pro- 
vided. 

In preparation of ground for the rooting of vines and the planting 
of cuttings therein, the suggestions in Chapter VIII are directly appli- 
cable, as, to secure rooting of the cuttings, there is just as great need for 
deep and fine working of the soil, pressing of it around the cutting, 
and for careful culture during the growing season, as there is for such 
treatment of fruit-tree seedling or root graft. It is just as necessary, 
too, that the rooted cuttings should be carefully lifted and guarded 
from drying out while on the way from the nursery to permanent 
place. The reader is, therefore, referred to Chapter VIII for sugges- 
tions on preparation, laying out, and care of nursery ground intended 
for the rooting of grape cuttings. 

To secure vines upon resistant roots recourse has recently been 
made by some growers to the cutting-graft which will be mentioned 
presently. 

There is a growing tendency to use rooted vines instead of cut- 
tings in planting out vineyards, for, although the former cost several 
times as much as the latter, either in the time of the grower or in cash 
outlay, the balance is believed to be usually on the other side, when the 
uniform stand and more satisfactory growth secured by rooted vines 
are considered. 



BUDDING THE GRAPE 



339 



BUDDING AND GR-^FTING THE GRAPE VINE 

Working- over the grape vine is largely practised in this State and 
is easily accomplished. The occasion is twofold : Replacing undesir- 
able varieties with those of better quality, or in better market demand, 
and in bringing the vinifcra varieties upon roots which resist the at- 
tacks of the phylloxera. The employment of resistant stocks has 
proved eminently satisfactory in this State, the resistant stock having 
been successfully installed even in the hole from which the dead vini- 
fera root had been taken. For this reason resistant roots are largely 





Budding from previous season's growth. 



relied upon in the planting of new vineyards in infested districts, and 
also used to some extent in regions where the insect is not now found, 
by those who fear and desire to provide against its coming. And yet 
in the large planting of vineyard in the interior valley which has re- 
cently been undertaken very little attention has been paid to resistant 
roots. It is so cheap to proceed with simple cuttings of the variety de- 
sired, and the vine comes into bearing so soon, that most planters are 
willing to take the risk of infection with phylloxera for it may be long 
delayed and several profitable crops may be realized before its arrival. 
This is a question which each planter must answer for himself. 

Budding the Grape. — Buds can be readily made to grow in 
grape canes, though budding is not largely used. Success can be had 
with the same method of budding that is common with fruit trees as 
described in Chapter IX. Insert the bud (which is taken from a cane 
of the previous season's growth) in the spring as soon as the bark will 
slip well on the stock, and before the run of the sap is too strong. 



340 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Keep the cuttings in a cool place so their growth will be retarded, and 
then seize upon just the right condition of the stock, insert the bud 
under the bark of a cane of the previous season's growth, tie it around 
with a string, and the bud starts readily without further treatment, 
when its growth shows its abiHty to take the sap, the top of the stock 
is removed. 

Herbaceous budding is also practicable. It consists of taking buds 
from the current season's growth and working them upon canes also 
of current growth by the usual shield budding process. Mr. Thomas 
Casalegna of San Martin succeeds well with this under these condi- 
tions; All buds put in from July 15 to August 15 start the same year, 
but may be injured by fall frosts. Those put in from August 15 to 
September 15 remain dormant until the following year, unless the 
stock is exceptionally vigorous. Budding is most successful in the 
month of August. The buds should be taken from canes which have 
reached the stage of maturity indicated by the pith turning white and 
just before the bark turns yellow. 

Grafting the Vine. — Grafting in old vine roots is a simple opera- 
tion, and is performed in various ways. The principles involved in 
vine grafting are similar to those affecting tree grafting, as described 
in Chapter IX. The processes employed are also similar, but the graft 
requires less binding and covering, because it is usually made beneath 
the surface of the ground, and is, therefore, less subject to accident, 
exposure, and drying out. 

Grafting in the old Stump. — This is resorted to when the char- 
acter of the vineyard is to be changed. Out of the many ways for 
working into old stumps, one introduces the scion by a side cut into the 
stock without splitting across as shown at C C in the engraving on 
page 343. The earth is removed from the old vine down to its first 
lateral roots, and the top is sawed off cleanly a few inches above the first 
laterals. A cut is then made into the side of the stump with a knife and 
mallet, as shown in the figure. The scion is then cut long enough so 
that one bud will remain above ground when the surface is leveled 
again, the bottom of the scion being given an oblique wedge-shape, so 
as to fit the crevice in the stock. Some care is needed in shaping the 
wedge of the scion, so that the surfaces are in contact will give good 
results. If the stock is well made and the end of the scion so adjusted 
that the stock will pinch it when it is pushed into place, nothing more 
will be needed except to smear over the cut surface of the stump and 
the joint of the scion and stock with clay or with a mixture of two 
parts clay and one part fresh cow manure. If the scion is held firmly 
and sealed in with this mixture, it usually needs no tying, and the 
hole can be carefully filled with loose earth, with a strong stake to 
mark the place of the graft, and to which the new growth can be se- 
curely tied afterwards. 



GRAFTING THE GRAPE 



341 



Another common method of grafting beneath the ground is to 
split the stump across its center, as is done in top-grafting fruit trees 
as shown in Chapter IX, and one or two scions inserted. If two are 
used and both grow, the weakly one is afterward suppressed. In this 




Herbaceous buds which have taken hold. 



cross cleft graft some grafters rely upon the stock to hold the scion 
without tying, and daub it over with the clay mixture, care being taken 
to fill and cover the split in the stock to exclude water. Others put a 
ligature around the split stump, as shown in the engraving. Strips of 
cotton cloth answer well for this purpose. Tying offers better security 
from knocking out the graft with the cultivator. 

In grafting into very tough old stumps, some growers leave a slim 
wedge of wood in the cleft with the scion to prevent the stock from 
closing too forcibly upon the scion. 

Side Grafting. — Side grafting the vine is commended by some 
growers. It consists in inserting a graft by a cut into the side of the 
stock, the method being essentially the same is that employed with 
fruit trees, as described in Chapter IX, except that in side grafting the 
vine the top is not amputated, but is allowed to bear its crop and is 
then removed the following winter. The next summer the scion will 
bear a crop, and the vine is worked over without cessation in its bear- 
ing. 



342 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Herbaceous Grafting.— This term is applied to a graft in which 
the scion of the current season's growth is set by a cleft graft into 
canes also of the current season's growth, while both scion and cane are 
elastic, but not too soft. The method has not been usually successful in 
this State, apparently because of the dryness of the summer air. Still 
some satisfactory results are reported. ]\Ir. Casalegna of Santa 
Clara county, whose success with herbaceous buds has been noted, 
does well also with soft-wood grafting by the whip-graft method. 
He says it is most successful in June, provided the scions are hard 
enough. The pith must be white. In a strong-growing vineyard 
grafting may be done in July. The leaves are taken ofif the scions when 
they are cut. If they are to be used immediately they are placed in 
water ; if to be carried some distance they are placed in a wet sack. Tie 
the grafts with German knitting yarn, not with rafifia. The season for 
herbaceous grafting will, of course, vary according to the locality. Hot 
weather immediately following the work is fatal to most of the grafts. 
If two or three cool days follows the insertion of the scions he obtains 
an almost perfect stand. 

Care of Scions. — Scions should be kept cool and moist enough 
to prevent drying but not wet enough to cause decay, as has already 
been described in the keeping of cuttings. 

Time of Grafting. — Grafting into old vine stumps is done in 
February, March and April in different parts of the State, March being 
the month usually chosen for the work. If a spring graft fails, the 
stump may be regrafted in August or in the following spring. In re- 
grafting, the stump is cut off again below the previous cleft. The time 
for the work is when the sap has ceased flowing, usually from the first 
to the tenth of August. 

The recourse to resistant roots to escape the phylloxera has been 
attended with some disappointment because the wild roots at first 
widely used proved only partially resistant. Recently, in the main 
through employment of French selected varieties of the American wild 
species, stocks with satisfactory resistance, larger growth and vigor and 
adaptation to different California soils have been secured. Notable 
success has been attained in the habilitation of vineyards on the basis 
of resistant roots. The University Experiment Station, at Berkeley, 
has maintained leadership in this direction by publication of specific in- 
formation which can be had by application to the Director. 

Resistant Varieties. — American wild vines are characterized by 
very marked differences in degree of resistance to phylloxera, and 
especially in adaptability to soils. Not only do species differ in this 
respect, but varieties of the same species show widely different char- 
acteristics. As a result of the process of selection varieties have been 



GRAFTING THE GRAPE 



343 



secured which are far above the average of the species in vigor of 
growth and development, degree of resistance and general suitability for 
resistant root purposes. The few varieties which have thus demon- 
strated particular excellence in France and have given notable indica- 
tions of success in California, are presented by jNIr. Bioletti, as follows : 




Methods of field grafting grape vines. 

A. Whip graft for stocks 1-2 to 2-3 of an inch in diameter. 

B, BB. Whip oraft for stocks- 2-3 to 3-4 of an inclx in diameter. 

C, CC. Lleft 9-rait for stocks 3-4 of an inch in diameter and for old stumps. 



344 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The varieties of resistant stocks which will in all probability be 
most used in California are Rupestris St. George (du Lot), Riparia X 
Rupestris 3306, Riparia X Rupestris 3309, Riparia Solonis 1616, Mour- 
vedreXRupestris 1202, AramonX Rupestris 2, Riparia gloire, and 




Instances of successful herbaceous grafts. 

Riparia grande glabre. These are all varieties which have given excel- 
lent results for years in Europe, and have all been tested successfully 
in California. Among them are varieties suitable for nearly all the 
vineyard soils of California, with perhaps the exception of some of the 
heavier clays. 

The Rupestris St. George is remarkably vigorous and grows very 
large, supporting the graft well even without stakes. It roots easily 
and makes excellent unions with most vinifera varieties. It is well 
suited to deep soils where its roots can penetrate. Its defects are that 
it is very subject to root- rot, especially in moist soils ; it suckers badly 
and it suffers from drought in shallow soils. Its great vigor produces 
coulure with some varieties and often necessitates long pruning. 

In moist or wet soils 1616 or 3306 have given better results in 
France and give indications of doing equally well here. In drier soils 
3309 will probably be found preferable. 

Aramon Rupestris No. 2 is suited to the same soils as Rupestris St. 
George, and does particularly well in extremely gravelly soils. It has 




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345 




Young vineyard of table grapes in the Lodi district. 




Continuous verdure of vineyards on the valley fioor. 



346 



VARIOUS RESISTANT VINES 347 

some of the defects of the St. George and is moreover more difficult 
to graft, and its only advantage in California is that it is rather less 
susceptible to root-rot. 

There are no better resistant stocks than Riparia gloire and Riparia 
grande globre, wherever they are put in soils that suit them. They do 
well, however, only in deep, rich, alluvial soils which are neither too 
wet nor too dry. Their grafts are the most productive of all, and ripen 
their grapes from one to two weeks earlier than the grafts on St. 
George, and are quite sufficiently vigorous to support any variety of 
the soil, and they never grcnv quite as large as the scion. The gloire is 
the most vigorous, and the difference is less with this variety than with 
any other Riparia. 

The MourvedreXRupcstris 1202 is extremely vigortnis, roots and 
grafts easily, and is well adapted to rich, sandy and moist soils. In 
drier and poorer soils its resistance is perhaps not sufficient. 

The most promising varieties for general use at present seem to be 
the two hybrids of Riparia and Rupestris, 3306 and 3309. They have 
great resistance to the phylloxera, root and graft almost as easily as St. 
George, and are quite sufficiently vigorous to support any variety of 
vinifera. The former is more suited to the moister soils and wherever 
there is danger of root-rot, and the latter to the drier soils. In general, 
they are suited to a larger variety of soils and conditions than perhaps 
any other varieties. 

Riparia gloire should be planted only on rich, deep alluvial soil con- 
taining an abundance of plant food and humus, what would be called 
good garden land, such as river bank soil not liable to overflow. 

In most other soils Riparia X Rupestris 3306 is to be recommended, 
except those which are rather dry. where 3309 is to be preferred, or 
those which are very wet, where Solonis X Riparia 1616 is surer to 
give good residts. 

The Cutting Graft. — Grafting the desired variety upon a resist- 
ant cutting, putting these cutting-grafts through a callusing bed and 
then planting the grafted cutting in nursery for rooting is an accepted 
French method which is being successfully employed in California. 
This has advantage in time gained and in securing a full stand of vines 
as compared with grafting upon cuttings already rooted in place in the 
vineyard though the latter has been successfully practiced. 

If cutting-grafts are placed directly in the nursery many will fail. 
For this reason it is always best, except at the extreme end of the graft- 
ing season, to "stratify" the grafts in a "callusing" bed, where condi- 
tions of moisture, temperature, and aeration can be controlled. This 
callusing bed is usually a pile of clean sand placed in the south end of 
wall or building surrounded by a board partition where there is no 



348 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM 

possibility of its becoming too wet by the flow of water from a higher 
level or from an over-hanging roof. It should be protected, if neces- 
sary, by a surrounding ditch. It should be furnished with a removable 
cover of canvas or boards to protect it from rain and to enable the tem- 
perature to be controlled by admission or exclusion of the sun's rays. 
A waterproof wagon-cover, black on one side and white on the other, 
is excellent for this purpose. 

The bottom of the callusing bed is first covered with 2 or 3 inches 
of sand. The bundles of grafts are then placed in a row along one end 
of the bed, and sand well filled in around them. The bundles should be 
placed in a slightly inclined position with the scions uppermost, and 
the sand should be dry enough so that it sifts in between the grafts in 
the bundle. The bundles of grafts are then covered up completely with 
sand, leaving it at least 2 inches deep above the top of the scion. There 
should be but little more moisture present for callusing than in the sand 
used for keeping the cuttings over winter. Too much moisture will 
stimulate the emission of roots and starting of buds without aiding 
the callus formation, which is a perfectly distinct process from the for- 
mation of roots. 

An adjacent engraving shows the subsequent rooting of cutting- 
grafts in the nursery. 

Grafting of Resistant Stocks after Rooting, — Grafting on resist- 
ant roots differs from working in old stumps in the size of the wood to 
be operated on, and in the fact that the graft must be set higher up 
because it is not desirable to have the scion strike roots of its own, for 
the obvious reason that depending on such roots would make the vine 
no longer resistant. The advantage of covering the graft with earth 
is, however, still to be enjoyed, for the earth can be raised in a little 
mound around the graft, to be removed when the graft has taken well. 
For this reason grafting on resistant roots is usually done at or near 
the surface of the ground. 

The common cleft graft is used when the stock is large enough to 
give a split strong enough to hold in the scion. In grafting smaller 
stocks the whip graft is used both in making cutting-grafts and in 
grafting cuttings already rooted. This graft is variously treated. It 
is covered with clay by some, by others with grafting wax ; but the 
common experience is that grafting wax makes too tight a joint, and 
holds in surplus sap, which begets disease. The use of a wax band 
specially adapted to ruling conditions has proved very successful, but 
the easiest and usually most satisfactory way is to wind with soft twine 
or raffla which will decay and loosen as the graft enlarges, but care 
must be taken to cut the band if it has not decayed at the time of trans- 
planting. 



LAYING OUT VINEYARD 349 

LAYING OUT THE VINEYARD 

Vines are planted in rectangles, generally in squares, but some- 
times at a less distance in the rows than the rows are from each other. 
The stakes which are to represent the future vines are in either case 
placed by the same methods of measuring or marking off. All the 
methods described for clearing and preparing lands, in Chapter VII, 
and for laying off ground in squares, described in Chapter X, 
are applicable to vineyard ground. The measuring wire therein de- 
scribed is the means usually employed for laying off. A special con- 
trivance which has been used to some extent on level ground is thus 
described : 

The marker most in use is made in the form of a sled, sixteen, fourteen, 
or twelve feet long, with three runners so placed as to mark rows eight, seven, 
or six feet wide. These runners should be made about three feet long, of some 
hard wood (Oregon pine will do), two inches thick and firmly nailed to two 
planks placed upon them of the lengths first above named. Upon these should 
be bolted two strong pieces of joist in the form of wagon hounds projecting in 
front far enough to receive a stout pole like a wagon tongue, well braced and 
fastened with an iron rod. Care must be taken that the motion of the machine 
is steady and true in all its parts. With a well-made marker, a gentle team, and 
a careful driver, excellent work may be done. 

Distance of Planting. — There is as much difference of opinion 
and practice in fixing the distance between vines as between orchard 
trees, but usually more room is given than formerly. Planted m 
squares, the distance varies from seven to ten feet, with eight feet as 
most prevalent, taking the State as a whole. Planting in rows is also 
adopted to some extent. Such plantations are made with the vines 
seven by ten or eight by ten feet, four and one-half by eleven feet, 
etc. There is great variation in the distances. Some advantages of 
the row system are as follows : Greater space to spread trays for 
raisin curing; plowing can be done with double team and larger plows; 
the brush can be gathered and burned between the rows instead of 
carrying it to the avenues ; sulphur and materials for spraying can be 
brought in by team to any part of the vineyard ; empty boxes can be 
distributed and filled ones gathered up without carrying, etc. Planting 
in rows recommends itself not only for planting new vineyards, but 
also for changing old vineyards from seven by seven feet to three and 
one-half by fourteen feet, or from eight by eight feet to four by six- 
teen feet, giving opportunity to change from a vinifera-root vineyard 
to a resistant-root vineyard. This can be accomplished by planting 
resistant roots in the alternate rows to be preserved, right between the 
two old vines. 

Number of Vines to the Acre. — However the vines be set, it 
is very easy to calculate the number of vines which an acre will accom- 
modate. Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by the distance 
the plants are apart in the rows, and the product will be the number of 



350 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

square feet for each plant, which, divided into the number of feet in an 
acre (forty-three thousand five hundred and sixty), will give the num- 
ber of plants to the acre. 

Avenues in the Vineyard. — For convenience of access with 
team and wagon there should always be avenues through the vineyard. 
They are usually arranged so as to cut up the vineyard into blocks 
about twice as long as broad, if the vineyard be on level land. Of 
course, on hilly lands the avenues should be located for ease of haul- 
ing. The avenue is made by leaving out a row of vines, and, therefore, 
the exact size of the block will depend upon the distance between the 
rows. Some advise having not more than forty vines between the 
avenues. Planting in rows, with wide spaces between the rows, ren- 
ders few avenues necessary. 



PLANTING CUTTINGS AND ROOTED VINES 

Various means are used for planting cuttings. An essential con- 
dition to successful growth is to have the lower part of the cutting well 
embedded in the soil, as it will not root unless in close contact with the 
earth. To lack of care in this regard most failures are due, and for 
lack of surety that such contact is made the various contrivances for 
speedy planting, such as the planting bar, are widely condemned ; an 
excavation of the hole and refilling with fine surface earth, just as ad- 
vised in Chapter XI, for planting orchard trees, is commended as the 
safest practice. Much, however, depends upon the soil. In loose, free 
soil such a use of bar or "sheep's-foot" as will be presently described 
may be satisfactory, while it would be impracticable on firmer soils, 
both because of the difficulty of insertion and because the packed con- 
dition caused by the forcing in would not favor root extension, and 
not desirable on shallow soils because the contact of the better surface 
soil with the bottom of the cutting will stimulate the growth of the 
cutting, and is, therefore, very desirable. 

The post-hole auger and a device for taking out soil as a "trier" 
takes out a sample of cheese or butter, have also been used to some 
extent, but not widely, in making holes for cuttings. 

Other forms of dibbles for planting vine cuttings relate particularly 
to. the setting of cutting-grafts in a light deeply- worked nursery soil, 
but may be also used to advantage in placing cuttings in the vineyard 
if the soil favors such a method. They are described by Mr. Bioletti 
as follows : 

Two of the best forms of nursery dibbles are shown in the en- 
graving. The first. A, consists of a piece of round one-half-inch 
iron, 18 inches long, furnished with a wooden handle at one end and 
a curved double point with a V-shaped cleft in the other. The bottom 



WAYS TO PLANT CUTTINGS 



351 



node of the stock is caught in the cleft and the graft forced down to 
the desired depth. Unless the ground is very light the other dibble, B, 
is preferable. It consists of a sword-shaped piece of iron 18 to 20 
inches long and 2 inches wide, furnished also with a handle. The usual 
way of using it is to press it into the ground to the desired depth, open 
the hole a little with a lateral thrust, withdraw it and insert the graft. 



\J 



GS 



s 



a 



^ 



Dibbles for planting vine cuttings. 



The dibble is then pushed into the ground again at about an inch to one 
side of the graft and by another lateral thrust the earth is pressed 
tightly around the graft. This takes more time than is necessary with 
the other form of dibble, and usually done carefully there is danger of 
failing to make the soil close around the base of the stock, which is thus 
left surrounded by an air space. Grafts left in this way are apt to 



352 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

become moldy and fail to make good roots. The figure C is a planting 
dibble to be used with hand and foot like a spade. All such contriv- 
ances are only suited to light soils which crumble and settle easily. On 
heavier soils, digging holes and placing the soil around the roots or the 
base of the cutting by hand is indispensable. 

Planting Bar and Sheep's-foot. — The following methods, de- 
scribed by Dr. Gustav Eisen as prevailing in the raisin districts of the 
San Joaquin Valley, on sandy, loamy soils, will well illustrate similar 
methods wherever followed : 

The planting bar consists of a bar of hard iron, sharpened at the lower end 
and furnished with a cross handle at the other. The length of the bar is about 
three and a half feet, width about two and a half inches, and thickness a third to 
half an inch. If less than this the bar will bend. The planting is done by push- 
ing the. bar perpendicularly in the ground. After withdrawing it, insert the cut- 
ting and push it down to the bottom. Fill up the hole by again inserting the bar 
in the ground close by and pressing the flat side against the hole. 

The sheep's-foot consists of a round rod with cross-handle at the upper end. 
The lower end of the rod is slightly flattened, bent and forked. The planting 
is done by fitting the forked end over the butt-end of the cutting, and immediately 
pushing cutting and rod together to the desired depth in the soil. A slight twist 
is now given to the sheep's-foot. This loosens it from the cutting and allows it 
to be withdrawn. A tamp with the foot fills the hole. Great care must be taken 
in withdrawing the sheep's-foot, lest in doing so the cutting should be lifted also, 
and this will leave a fatal air chamber at the lower end. The slight twist given 
the rod before withdrawing loosens it and leaves the cutting undisturbed. 

For planting in dry situations some careful planters run water 
and fine earth into the hole made by the bar after inserting the cut- 
ting; others run in fine sand dry and then pour on water. In using 
water in this way one must take care that he does not use adobe earth, 
for a succeeding dry spell may bake it, and the cutting will be worse 
off than if not puddled. 

Planting Rooted Vines. — Planting rooted vines is governed by 
the same rules commended for planting trees in Chapter XI, so far as 
preparation of holes, care in placing and firming the soil around the 
roots, etc., is concerned. In handling rooted vines there must be 
greater care in packing and transportation to prevent the roots from 
drying, and in carrying to the field it is generally advised that the 
plants be kept in a pail or other receptacle with water. The vine rqots 
are very small and tender, and success will largely depend upon good 
care of them. At planting all dead or injured roots should be trimmed 
away, healthy roots shortened so that they can be placed well in the 
hole, and the top reduced to a single cane cut back to two eyes. 

When to Plant.— The exact time to plant can not be stated, 
for the condition of the soil and the local season-points are the best 
guides. Planting can be done much later as a rule in the coast regions 
than in the interior, because the soil is usually later in getting into good 
condition of mellowness and warmth, and the late rains are usually 



PLANTING ROOTED VINES 353 

heavier. It is certainly not advisable to place cuttings in cold, wet soil, 
and dry soil will quickly destroy their vitality. The suggestions given 
in Chapter XI should be carefully considered. The planter must use 
good judgment in choosing his time for planting, aided in forming it 
by the best local experience he can get. 

Cultivation of Vineyard. — General suggestions concerning the 
cultivation of the vineyard have already been given in Chapter 
XIII, preceding. 




Instance of large bearing by long pruning. 



354 



CHAPTER XXVI 1 

PRUNING AND CARE OF THE VINE.* 

Most of the varieties of vinifera grown in California at present 
thrive under the short pruning system. There are exceptions, how- 
ever, which will be noted later. The prevalence of the short pruning 
system frees our growers from the expense and inconvenience of 
trellises. Though in the early years of the vine stakes are used, our 
older vines stand by themselves and are as independent of supports as 
our fruit trees. The vines are, in fact, shaped upon something the 
same model as our fruit trees, the so-called "goblet form" of the 
French being our prototype. 

THE FIRST YEAR 

During the summer of the year the vines are planted, no pruning 
or training of any kind is needed in most cases. For this reason it is 
nearly always unnecessary to stake the vines when they are planted. 
The only exception to this is when strong-rooted vines are planted in 
a rich, moist soil in which they will make a very large growth the first 
year. In this case it is desirable, though not quite necessary, to 
stake the vines immediately after planting to adopt the method of sum- 
mer treatment described below for the second year. 

In most cases it is best to allow all shoots to remain to feed the 
vine and to insure a good root growth the first year. 

Staking. — In the autumn or winter following planting, the vines 
should be staked, either before or after pruning, but in any case some 
time before the buds start in the spring. 

The kind of stake used will depend on the variety of vine and on 
the method of pruning to be ultimately adopted. For ordinary short- 
pruning, the stake should be of such length that, after being driven 
into the ground, sufficient will be below the surface to keep it firm 
and prevent its being loosened by the force of the wind acting on the 
vine which is tied to it, and sufficient above the surface to extend one 
or two inches above the height at which it is intended to head the vines. 
It should be from one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches 
square, according to the length. 

In firm ground, for small-growing vines such as Zinfandel, a 
stake 1% by 1^4 inches and 27 inches long will be sufficient. This 
will allow 15 inches to be driven into the g^round and leave 12 inches 



* The detailed instructions and accompanying illustrations in this chapter are taken from 
the excellent writings of Mr. F. T. Bioletti for the California Experiment Station, and 
embody the teachings of long experience and wide observation, 

355 



356 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

above, which is enough for vines to be headed at 10 inches. If the 
ground is loose or sandy a 30-inch stake driven 18 inches into the 
ground will be needed. For strong-growing varieties, such as 
Carignane or Tokay, especially when planted in rich soil, a stake 
1/^ by \y2 inches and 36 inches long will be necessary, and 15 or 
18 inches of this should be left above the ground. This will permit 
the heading of the vines at 15 inches. 

If the vines are to be trellised with one wire, a 36-inch stake 
driven 18 inches into the ground is the proper length. If two wires 
are to be used, a 48-inch stake will be needed, leaving 30 inches 
above the surface. 

If the vines are to be pruned long and the canes tied to the 
stake, a 5-foot stake will usually be needed, and this must be 
stronger, 2 by 2 inches square. This stake should be driven 2 feet 
into the ground. 

These dimensions are all smaller than are usual in California, 
but are quite sufficient for all practical purposes. The stake should 
be placed 1 to 2 inches from the vine on the side opposite to the 
prevailing heavy winds. The force of the wind will thus keep the 
vine pressed against the stake and the tying material less liable 
to break. 

First Winter Pruning. — In California, the young vines may be 
pruned at any time after the leaves have fallen, except in sections 
very subject to spring frosts, where it is sometimes advisable to 
defer the pruning until after the top buds of the canes start. 

The way the vines are to be pruned will depend altogether on 
the growth they have made. If the growth has been small the tops 
are pruned exactly like rooted vines before planting. All the canes 
are removed entirely, except the strongest, and this is cut back to 
two buds, (see Fig. 1, a). 

Any vines which have made a strong growth and possess at 
least one cane of which a sufficient length is well ripened may be 
pruned for tying up. All the canes are removed entirely, except 
the strongest, and this is cut back to 10, 15, or 18 inches, according to 
the height at which it is intended to head the vine (see Fig. 2, a). The 
top cut is made through a bud, just as in making cuttings. This will 
facilitate tying up and insure the healthy growth of the top bud. 

Sometimes, even when the vine has made sufficient growth, the 
canes are prostrate or crooked and none can be tied up straight to the 
stake. In this case the vine must be pruned like a weak vine — that is, 
thinned to one cane and this cane cut back to two buds. 

In no case should two canes of any length be left, and in all cases 
where it is impossible to obtain the full length of well-ripened wood for 



FIRST STEP IN SHORT PRUNING 



357 





Fig. 1. Treatment of an average vine during second season. 

a. Winter pruning. 

b. Spring pruning — removal of suckers (S) and thinning of shoots (W). 

c. Summer treatment — tying to stake and topping. 



tying up, the cane should be cut back to two buds. It is very bad prac- 
tice to leave some of the canes of intermediate length, as this causes 
the vines to head out at various heights and produces an irregularity of 
shape which can never be remedied and which interferes with regular 
pruning, cultivation and other vineyard work. 

The idea to be kept in mind is to cut back each winter nearly to the 
ground — that is, to two buds — until a cane is produced with a length 
of well-ripened wood and good buds equal to the height at which the 
vine is to be headed. It is very important that this cane should be 
straight, healthy and well-ripened, as it is from it that the trunks of the 
mature vine develops. All the vines on which a cane has been left 
should be carefully tied up. Two ties will be needed in most cases. A 
half hitch should be made around the cane below the swelling left by 
the bud which has been removed, and the cane tied firmly to the top of 
the stake. Another tie is made about half-way down the stake. The 
lower tie need not be very tight, and in any case the tying material 
should not be passed completely around the cane, except above the top 
bud, or the vine will be strangled when it commences to grow (see 
Fig. 2, a). Any kind of string or twine, sufficiently strong to withstand 
the pressure of the growing vine in a heavy wind, may be used. Binding 
twine, or a single strand of good baling rope, is suitable. No. 16 or 17 



358 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 




Fig. 2. Treatment of average vine during the third season, or of a 
vigorous vine during the second. 

a. Vine pruned to one cane and tied to stake. 

b. Removal of sucker (S) and lower shoots (\V) in spring. 

c. Vine in summer at time of pinching. 



galvanized wire is preferred by some and is better than string, if care is 
taken to remove the bottom ties the following year before they strangle 
the vine. Wire is a little more expensive and takes a little longer to 
put on than string, but holds the vines better and can be used for sev- 
eral years. 

SECOND YEAR 

Summer Pruning. — The treatment during the second and third 
spring and summer is of great importance to the future welfare of 
the vine. A little judicious care at this period will avert many troubles 
in later years. It will be necessary to go over the vineyard four or five 
times to do the suckering, topping, and tying which are necessary. 

The shoots starting from the vines which have been cut back to 
two buds should be thinned to a single one. This thinning should be 
done as soon as possible in such a way that it is never necessary to re- 
move a shoot more than 3 or 4 inches long (see Fig. 1, 1^7). If the thin- 
ning is deferred until the shoots are a foot or more long the vine will 
be weakened by the removal of so much foliage. If the thinning can 
not be done early, it is better not to do it at all. The object of this 



FORMS OF THREE-YEAR-OLD VINES 



^59 




a b c 

Fig. 3. Three-year-old vines after pruning. 

a. Average vine with two spurs. 

b. Vigorous vines with three spurs, the lowest of whicli is to be rcninvid the following year. 
e. Vigorous vine with three spurs. 



thinning is to throw all the force and growth of the vine into the cane 
which is to form finally the trunk of the vine. If it is done too late not 
only does the growth not go into this cane, but th^ vine is weakened 
so much that this cane does not grow so well as it would have done 
without thinning. 

The first thinning can be done w^ith the first hoeing, and the second 
with the suckering. The suckering consists of the removal of all 
shoots which come from below the ground. These also should be re- 
moved as early as practicable, both to avoid weakening the vine by the 
removal of mature leaves and also because a young sucker is much 
more easily separated from the vine at this time. Every sucker must 
be cut or broken off at the point where it originates. If a little piece 
of the sucker is left, several new suckers will start at the same place. 
The more completely the suckering is done during the first two years, 
the less trouble in this respect there will be in later years. This is 
particularly true of grafted vines. 

A few wrecks after the first thinning, the single shoot which has 
been left will have grown 10 or 15 inches. At this length it should be 
tied up to the stake (see Fig. 1, c). If this tying is neglected or de- 
ferred too long, a heavy wind is very liable to break off the whole shoot. 



360 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

A piece of string tied rather loosely about the middle of the shoot is all 
that is needed. If the vines are to be headed high (18 inches) another 
tie near the top of the stake may be necessary. 

For vines which are making only a moderate growth this is all the 
treatment needed during the summer. Strong-growing vines in rich 
soil, however, should be topped. 





>«Ks^^^^^^^^^| 


^^^^^^^^^^^HKaT^H 


r^^l^^l 


^^^^V^^^^^^H' , ^ 


^I^^^H 




i^^B 


^^^^^^BC * -t ' 


W- '^Sp^3^B 




/ |n 




^w ^J^^^^^^^^^B 




I^^^H 


^KmM 


^^^1 




9H 



Fig. 4. An ideal three-year-old vine after pruning. 

Topping. — The object of this is to force the shoot to send out 
laterals at the right height above the surface of the soil, to be used as 
spurs during the following year. This topping is an operation which 
requires a good deal of judgment. If the topping is done too soon, lat- 
erals will not start, but a new terminal shoot will be formed. This is 
not a serious defect, however, but simply necessitates a second topping 
two or three weeks later. Neither will the laterals start if the topping 
is done too late, or if they start they will not mature, and the vine is 
weakened by the removal of foliage without any compensating ad- 
vantage. 

Until experience has shown the proper time for the variety and 
locality, it is best to top when the shoot has grown to from 8 to 12 
inches above the top of the stake, and if necessary top again later. 



SUMMER PRUNING OF VINES 



361 



The shoot should be topped within 1 or 2 inches of the top of the 
stake, if the stakes have been chosen and driven as advised above (see 
Fig-. 1, c). This will insure the growth of laterals just where they are 
needed for the next winter pruning. 




Fig. 5. Showing method of bending fruit canes to insure 
growth of shoots from replacing spurs. 



The vines on which a cane has been left and tied up during the pre- 
ceding winter must be treated a little differently. The removal of un- 
derground shoots or suckers is the same. Instead of thinning out the 
shoots to a single one, as for the vines just described, all the shoots 
should be left to grow, except those too near the ground (see Fig. 2, 



362 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

As a rule, all shoots between the ground and the middle of the 
stakes should be taken off. It is even more important that this should 
be done early than in the case described above. If the lower shoots are 
allowed to become large and then removed, not only is the vine weak- 
ened by the removal of mature leaves, but the stem of the vine is sud- 
denly exposed to the direct rays of the hot sun and is very liable to 
injury. This injury does not show by the peeling off of the bark as 
with fruit trees, but by a general weakening and dwarfing of the vine. 

The shoots coming from the upper half of the cane are to form the 
spurs for the following winter pruning, and can often be left to grow 
without further treatment. 

If the growth is very rapid and succulent, however, it is necessary 
to pinch them, or the first heavy wind may break them off (see Fig. 2, 

(C). 

Pinc/iiug consists in the removal of 1 or 2 inches of growth at the 
extreme tip of the shoot. This delays the growth in length tem]:)orarily 
and gives the shoot time to strengthen its tissues before its length gives 
too much leverage to the wind. This pinching usually has to be re- 
peated at least once. 

Pinching may be replaced by topping a few weeks later, but the 
latter is somewhat weakening to the vine. 

In all summer pruning — that is, the removal of green shoots and 
leaves — of young vines, two things should be kept in mind : First, that 
all summer pruning is weakening; second that the object of summer 
pruning of young vines is to direct the growth as much as possible into 
those parts which are to become permanent portions of the mature 
vine. The weakening effect is almost ;;// if the shoots or tips are re- 
moved when they are very small, but may be very serious if large shoots 
are removed or heavily topped. When a large shoot covered with leaves 
is removed it is a total loss to the vine. When a small shoot is removed 
the food materials which would have gone into that shoot are diverted 
to the shoots that remain, and the vigor and size of the latter are in- 
creased. 



THIRD YEAR 

Winter Pruning. — After the leaves have fallen at the end of the 
third summer every vine should have a well-formed, straight stem with 
two, three, or more canes growing from the upper part, and the forma- 
tion of the "head" or crown should commence. Any vines which have 
not been brought to this condition must be pruned like two or one-year- 
old vines, as the case may be. 

If the work up to this point has been well done, the formation of 
the head is a simple matter. It consists in leaving two, three, or four 




363 



364 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

spurs, arranged as symmetrically as possible near the top of the vine. 
The stronger the vine, as evidenced by the number, length, and thick- 
ness of the canes, the larger the number of spurs and buds that should 
be left. 

A spur consists of the basal portion of a cane, and normally of two 
full internodes. This leaves two buds besides the base bud. The nuniT 
ber of buds to leave on a spur depends on the strength or thickness of 
the cane from which the spur is made. A thin, or weak, cane should 
be cut back to one bud or even to the base bud. A strong cane, on the 
other hand should be left with three buds besides the base bud. 

The pruning of each vine requires judgment, and it is impossible 
to give an inflexible rule to follow. The ideal of a perfect vine should 
be kept in mind and each vine pruned as nearly in accordance with this 
ideal as circumstances permit. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 represent nearly per- 
fect three-year-old vines consisting of two or three symmetrically placed 
spurs of two buds each near the top of the stem. 

Sometimes it is necessary to leave a spur lower down (see Fig 3, 
b). This spur will be removed the following year after it has produced 
two or three bunches of grapes. Sometimes a vine may be very vig- 
orous but have only two canes properly placed for making spurs. In 
this case the spurs should be left longer — three buds and even in ex- 
treme cases four buds long. 

In stump pruning there is a difference of practice as to low head- 
ing according to locality. In the interior regions the vine is now headed 
almost at the surface of the ground ; in the coast regions there is usu- 
ally a stump of one to two feet or more. As with trees so with vines, 
the practice is to prune to make lower heads than during the early 
years of California fruit growing. 

Long Pruning. — Some varieties grown for market and for raisin 
making do not thrive if pruned by the short-spur system. Notable 
among these are the Sultana, Sultanina, (Thompson's Seedless), Em- 
peror and Sabalskanski. There are also a number of wine varieties 
which must be pruned long. Whatever the variety of vine and what- 
ever the system of pruning to be ultimately adopted, the treatment for 
the first two and even three years is practically identical and is that 
which has already been described in detail. 

Long pruning admits of degrees, but it usually signifies using a five 
or six instead of a four-foot stake and leaving the selected canes from 
eighteen inches to three feet or longer instead of cutting back to two 
or three buds, as in short pruning. These long canes are securely tied 
to the long stakes. 

With varieties needing long pruning the first two or three buds next 
the old wood do not bear fruit, hence the need of leaving buds farther 
removed from the old wood to secure it. This habit of the vine invites 



LONG PRUNING OF VINES 365 

the practice of growing a long cane for fruit and at the same time pro- 
viding for wood growth for the following year's fruiting by cutting 
another cane from the same spur down to two or three buds. By this 
practice the wood which has borne the fruit is cut back to a bud each 
winter and the cane which has grown only wood is pruned long for 
the fruit of the following summer. A modification of the practice is to 
prune the canes from some of the spurs long, and from other spurs 
short, thus making the spurs alternate from wood bearing to fruit bear- 
ing from year to year. Unless some method is adopted to promote the 
growth of strong canes from near the head of the vine, long pruning 
becomes unsatisfactory. According to the common way with those 
vines which are known to require longer canes for satisfactory bearing, 
such canes are selected when the vine is well established and two, three, 
four, or more canes four or five feet long are tied up vertically to a high 
stake. This process is repeated the next year and the next, and the 
result is, with the Sultanina at least, that after the second or third year 
all the bearing wood is at the top of the stake, and the vine must be 
pruned short again or suckers and watersprouts left as long canes. 
Neither way is satisfactory. 

Two methods have been successfully used to insure the growth of 
new fruit wood every year in a position where it can be utilized. The 
first consists in bending the fruit canes into a circle, as illustrated in 
Fig. 5. This diminishes the tendency of the sap of the vine to go to 
the end of the fruit canes. The consequence is that more shoots start 
in the lower parts of the fruit canes. All the shoots on these canes are 
made weaker and more fruitful by the bending, and at the same tmie 
the sap pressure is increased and causes strong shoots to start from 
the wood-spurs left near the bases of the fruit canes. These shoots are 
used for fruit canes at the following winter pruning, and new wood 
spurs are then left for the next year. 

The tying and bending of the friut canes require great care, and 
repeated suckering and removal of watersprouts are necessary to in- 
sure a strong growth of replacing canes on the wood spurs. This 
method can be used successfully only by skillful hands. 

The other method requires some form of trellis. The most prac- 
ticable trellis is a wire stretched along the rows at about 1^^ or 2 feet 
above the surface of the soil. For very vigorous vines in rich soil 
a second wire 12 inches above the first is advisable. 

The pruning is the same as for the method just described. The 
fruit canes, however, instead of being bent in a circle and tied to the 
stake, are placed in a horizontal position and tied to the wire. The 
horizontal position has the same effect as curving in promoting the 
starting of more shoots on the fruit canes and the consequent production 
of more bunches of grapes. At the same time the buds on the wood 
spurs are forced to start, and not being shaded they tend to grow vig- 
orously. It is best to tie the shoots from the wood spurs in a vertical 



366 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 

position to the stake, and they should not be topped. This system of 
pruning is not only theoretically correct, but is easy to explain to prun- 
ers, and can be carried out much more perfectly than the first method 
with ordinary labor. 

Whatever system of winter pruning is adopted with the Sultanina. 
careful summer pruning, suckering, sprouting, and topping are neces- 
sary for the best results. This variety has a tendency to send out large 
numbers of suckers from below ground and watersprouts from the old 
wood. These shoots are usually sterile, grow vigorously, and unless 
removed in time divert the energies of the vine from the fruit and 
fruit shoots. Two or three times during the spring the vineyard should 
be gone over carefully and all sterile shoots which are not needed to 
balance the vine or to replace weak or missing arms should be re- 
moved. This removal of shoots should be done in such a way that no 
shoot longer than 12 inches is ever removed. If the watersprouts are 
allowed to grow large their removal weakens the vine. The shoots 
which are to give fruit canes for the following year should not be 
topped. The shoots from the horizontal fruit canes on the trellises, 
however, will set their fruit better and are less likely to be broken by 
the wind if they are pinched or topped early. 



SUMMER PRUNING AND SUCKERING 

Summer pruning or topping of bearing vines is usually practised. 
Some follow the pinching process, by which the terminal of the grow- 
ing cane is nipped olT with the thumb and finger when it has grown 
out about two feet. Others wait longer and then slash ofif the ends of 
the canes with a sickle. The tendency is to leave summer pruning 
until too late and to slash off wood indiscriminately, to the injury of 
the vine. Summer pruning, if done early enough, and this would be 
while the growth is still soft at the point of removal, will induce the 
growth of laterals and will shade and improve the fruit, and at the 
same time thicken the growth of the main cane and strengthen its 
connection with the spur. Slashing of canes too late in the season de- 
prives the fruit of the service Of enough leaf surface for the the elab- 
oration of the sap, often seriously checks the growth of the vine, and 
in hot regions, induces sunburn. The first summer pruning should be 
done soon after the bloom, but not during blooming. The second could 
take place whenever the canes or laterals extend beyond the length 
necessary to shade the grapes. 

Suckering is an important process and usually has to be attended 
to at least twice in the season. It consists in removing all shoots from 
old wood which are not provided for at the previous winter pruning. 
The growth of these suckers takes sap which should go to the other 
canes. All such shoots should be rubbed or pulled off while they are 



tllNTS ON PRUNING VINES 367 

?till soft ; if a sucker puts out at a point where it would be desirable 
to have a spur to balance the head of the vine, it should of course be 
allowed to grow, to be cut back to two buds the following winter. 
By such selection of suckers new spurs are secured to replace old and 
failing- ones. 



GENERAL XOTES ON PRUNING 

Longer or shorter pruning produces effects not only upon the 
amount of early ripening of the fruit of certain varieties, but upon 
quality, as shown in the wines. Such effects have to be discerned by 
local observation. 

It is a very difficult matter to lay down any rule for pruning a 
vineyard, so much depends on the age of the vines, the different va- 
rieties, and the quality of the soil. A basis on which to build a theory 
on the subject might be found in and through an understanding of 
the quantity of grapes that may be expected from a vine, as the secret 
of pruning is to keep a just medium between the production of grapes 
to the injury of the vine and its wood and an overproduction of wood 
to the detriment of the crop. In older vines a proportion should be 
maintained between the vigor of the vines and the crop desired ; each 
bud may be considered good for two bunches of grapes the ordinary 
size, and upon this estimate may be obtained. It must be borne in mind 
that the result of overloading the vine is detrimental to its vigor and 
health, while tlie reverse will not injure it, but will lessen the profits for 
that season, often giving greatly increased returns in after years. 

Close attention should be given to the growth of the wood and 
fruit of the preceding year. If the canes are very large and the 
bunches of grapes poor and there are many suckers, it indicates that 
more eyes are necessary. On the contrary, if the canes are small, and 
the bunches of grapes numerous and straggling, and the rijjening not 
even, it indicates that the number of eyes left should be less. 

Pruning may be regulated to produce a good second crop of grapes 
or to prevent the formation of a second crop. The second crop 
is often desirable in raisin and table varieties, but undesirable in wine 
varieties. 

Attention should be paid to the tools used in pruning. Let the 
blades be kept sharp and thin ; large shears are very apt to bruise the 
wood more than small ones. 

Pruning is done after the fall of the leaves and before the swelling 
of the buds, usually in January and Febrviary. Early pruning has a 
tendency to make the vines start growth early, consequently in frosty 
situations pruning is often deferred till late in the winter — as late as 
the middle of March in some cases. In such situations it is advised 



368 CALIFORNIA FRUITS '. HOW TO GROW THEIki 

to leave more buds at pruning, so if the frost kills the first shoots there 
are buds below to make later growth. This practice has been followed 
with marked advantage in some regions liable to late spring frosts. 

The treatment of vines injured by spring frosts is clearly the imme- 
diate removal, by a sharp downward jerk, of the frosted shoots. P. C. 
Rossi, a large vineyardist, recites this experience, both in the San Joa- 
quin and Santa Rosa Valleys : 

We had all the vines affected by frost entirely stripped of the damaged shoots, 
and we had the pleasure of seeing that, in a short time after, all the dormant buds 
came out tinely, with their regular two bunches of grapes ; therefore we have lost 
only one-third of the crop. In order to make careful experiment we left a row 
of vines untouched, and the result proved that the vines that were not stripped 
did not do as well as the others, as the dormant buds in many cases did not come 
out, and those that came out were not healthy and strong, and hardly had any 
grapes. The damaged shoots that were not removed died gradually, and at the 
junction with the cane new shoots came out without any grapes at all. The 
result clearly proves that we will have fully two-thirds of the crop out of the 
frost-bitten vines which were stripped of the damaged canes, while we had hardly 
any first crop and only a second crop on the vines which were not attended to. 



DISEASES OF THE VINE 

One of the most prevalent diseases of the vine in California is 
caused by a fungus which affects leaves, canes, and berries, and is lo- 
cally known as "mildew." This disease is recognized by grayish white 
coloring of the affected leaves, which, as the disease progresses, shrivel 
and dry up; the young cane also blackens and dries, and the berries 
show whitish patches, which become darker colored and the berries 
crack open. The usual remedy for the trouble is finely-ground or sub- 
limed sulphur applied several times during the season, as will be de- 
scribed in the chapter on diseases of trees and vines. 

The Bordeaux Mixture and other copper preparations are some- 
times useful upon grape-vines, as will be cited in the chapter on plant 
diseases. 

Coulure. — A frequent misfortune of the vine, and for which no 
remedy is yet known, is coulure, a term signifying the failure of the 
fruit to set or to remain on the cluster. This occurs in varying degrees 
from the loss of a few berries to the almost complete clearing of fruit 
from the stem. It is worse with some varieties than others and in 
some localities than others. The trouble is believed to arise from va- 
rious causes. 

There is, also, occurring with more or less frequency, a reddening 
and death of the vine leaves, supposed to be identical with the trouble 
known to the French as "rougeole." The leaves show light-colored 
spots at first, which afterward turn red and finally involve the whole 
leaf or cane, and sometimes the whole vine. It usually occurs in mid- 
summer, and is not necessarily fatal in its effects. 



VARIOUS VINE TROUBLES 369 

Root Knot. — An evil occurring on the main stem of the vine, 
generally near the surface of the ground, is an excresence of woody 
character commonly called "black knot.'' There has been much dis- 
cussion as to the cause of this abnormal growth, without full agree- 
ment among observers. Some attribute the knots to injuries to the 
stump in cultivation, others to outbursts of sap which the short pruning 
system does not give top growth enough to dispose of, and to various 
other causes. This is analogous to the "crown knot" of fruit trees 
which will be mentioned in the chapter on plant diseases. 

Anaheim Disease. — There has prevailed for several years in 
California a mysterious disease of the vine known as the "Anaheim 
disease," because its evil work first appeared in that vicinity. It de- 
stroyed many thousand acres of vines and led to the abandonment of 
grape growing in some regions in southern California. The fullest 
statements concerning its performance can be found in Bulletin No. 
2, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Vegetable Pathology, 
by Newton B. Pierce, 1892, and Farmers' Bulletin No. 30, 1895. For- 
tunately during recent years the trouble has been less aggressive but 
neither its nature nor satisfactory treatment has been fully demon- 
strated. The latest available information concerning it and other 
troubles of the vine can be had by application to the University Experi- 
ment Station at Berkeley. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

GRAPE VARIETIES IN CALIFORNIA 

Large collections of grape varieties have been brought into Cali- 
fornia during the last forty-five years. They were sought in all grape 
countries, and from such wide experimental planting a few have sur- 
vived in popular esteem and are now chiefly grown. Being derived 
from different countries, they came bearing many names. Some of 
these have been preserved, some wholly lost, and replaced with local 
appellations. The result is that our grape nomenclature is full of con- 
fusion. Some varieties have been identified by the means of the stand- 
ard French grape literature ; others are apparently unknown to the 
compilers of that literature. It is, therefore, impossible to-day to de- 
termine a number of our most popular table and shipping grapes, as 
well as some of the wine varieties. The relative importance of the 
most popular table and raisin grapes is shown in the accompanying tab- 
ulation of reports from growers secured as described in Chapter XVI, 
relating to the relative standing of orchard fruit varieties. These 
growers were asked to name the grapes which they considered best 
worth planting in 1908. 

Grape Varieties Approved by California Growers. 



Central Sacramento San Joaquin 



GRAPES. 



Muscat 

Tokay 

Cornichon 

Sultanina (Thompson) 

Emperor 

Malaga 

Rose of Peru 

Black Morocco 

Verdal 

Sultana 

Mission 

Black Hamburg 

Black Ferrara 

Gros Colman 

Zabalkanski 

Palomino 

Sweetwater 

Pierce 

Concord 

Delaware 

Niagara 

Campbell's Early 

Agawam 



Coast 


valley and 


valley and 


Southern 


valleys. 


foothills. 


foothills. 


California. 


* 


** 


** 


** 


* 


** 


** 


* 


* 


** 


* 


** 


* 


** 


** 


** 




*-.- 


** 




* 


** 


** 


** 




** 


* 


* 


* 


* 




* 




* 




* 



"■Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. 
*Most highly commended. 



370 



GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 371 

The last six named are grapes of popular eastern types. They are 
of exceedingly small commercial importance and are chiefly grown in 
southern California ; not because eastern varieties are better suited to 
local conditions there than in other parts of the State but because there 
are more people who enjoy them. 

In order to characterize our leading table grapes, descriptions will 
be quoted from the best available local authorities, as follows : 

Early Black July, syns. Madeleine, Madeline Noir, etc. — "Leaves rather small, 
light green above and beneath; bunches small and compact; berries small, quite 
round; skin thick, black, covered with a blue bloom; flavor moderately sweet, 
but not rich nor perfumed. The earliest grape, and chiefly valued for dessert on 
that account."— Hyatt. 

IVIiite July; syn. Luglicnga. — "Vine strong-growing and sensitive to frost ; 
leaves of medium size, deeply five-lobed, dark green, glabrous on both sides, 
sharply toothed, the terminal tooth of each lobe very Ions? and acuminate ; bunches 
of medium size, well filled ; berries of medium size, oval, at first green, becoming 
yellow with overripcness, with thin skin, crisp, firm flesh, and agreeable flavor." — 
Biolctti. The Luglienga, which means July grape, is one of the earliest grapes 
known. 

Early Madeleine; syn. Madeleine Angevine. — "Moderate grower, with long- 
jointed, brown wood; leaf medium, deeply lobed, dark green above, tomentose 
below ; young points reddish, woolly, slender ; bunch medium, compact, shoul- 
dered ; berry medium, oblong, yellowish green, transparent, rather thick skin, 
sweet and juicy. Vine a shy bearer when frost is prevalent." — Husinaiin. 

Chassclas Dorc; syn. Fontaincblcau, Szvcctivofcr. — "A rather vigorous grower, 
with medium or somewhat slender canes of a reddish-brown color ; young shoots 
of garnet color, ncarlv or quite glabrous; leaves rather below average size, a 
little longer than wide, glabrous above and nearly so below, except for a few 
hairs on the main nerves, with well-marked sinuses, the petiolar one often closed, 
the petiole long, rather slender, and rose-colored ; bunches of medium or over- 
medium size, conico-cylindrical shouldered, more or less compact; berries medium 
to large, with firm but tender skin, small seeds ; of delicate flavor and texture, at 
first crisp but becoming soft with full maturitv. The grapes are of a clear green 
color, tinged with a beautiful golden bronze where exposed to the sun." — Bioletti. 

Chassclas Rose. — Fruit resembling foregoing, except that both bunch and ber- 
ries arz usually smaller, and flavor is more pronounced. 

Chassclas Victoria. — "Vine vigorous, very short-jointed and brittle, and bears 
well with short pruning; wood grayish yellow, thick and strong; leaf Hght green, 
deeply lobed and shining; young shoots with numerous laterals; bunch very large 
and heavy, often weighing five pounds, shouldered, very compact ; stem brown, 
very thick; berry medium, round, pale lilac, purple, with lilac bloom, juicv, vinous, 
refreshing." — Husmann. 

Palomino; syn. Golden Chassclas. — "The vine quite largely grown as 'Golden 
Chassclas' is undoubtedly identical with the Listan, or Palomino." — Hilgard. 
Vine a fair grower; wood close-jointed; leaf medium, oblong, deeply lobed, bright 
green above, grayish green and tomentose lielow ; stem short, young points with 
reddish tint and woolly; bunch large, conical, rather loose and shouldered; berry 
round, full medium, sometimes flat, pale green with yellowish tinge ; thin skin, 
juicy and sweet, resembling Chassclas." — Husmann. 

Black Malvoise. — "Vine a strong grower; wood long-jointed, rather slender, 
light brown ; leaf medium size, oval, rather evenly and deeply five-lobed ; basal 
sinus moderately open, with parallel sides, upper surface smootli, ahnost glabrous, 
lower surface lightly tomentose on the veins and veinlets ; bunches large, rather 
loose, branching; berries large, oblong, reddish black with faint bloom; flesh 
juicy, flavor neutral."— Hilgard. Widely grown as an early table grape. 



372 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Mission. — "This variety, grown at the old missions, has never been determined, 
nor its exact source ascertained. It is regarded by some as a most delicious table 
grape. It can be found in small areas in every county of the State adapted to the 
grape. Vine a strong grower; wood short-jointed, dull dark brown to grayish; 
leaf above medium size, slightly oblong, with large, deeply-cut, compound teeth, 
basal sinus widely open, primary sinuses shallow and narrow, secondary sinuses 
ill-defined, "smooth on both sides, light green below with light, scattered tomen- 
tum." — Hilgard. "Bunches slightly shouldered, loose, divided into many small, 
distinct lateral clusters ; berries medium size, round, purple black, heavy bloom ; 
exceedingly sweet, juicy, and delicious; seeds rather large; skin thin." — Hyatt. 

Muscatel; syn. White Frontignan. — "Vine of medium size, with strong, spread- 
ing canes ; canes reddish-brown, with short internodes ; leaves of medium size, 
thin, five-lobed, glabrous, except for a few hairs on the lower side of the well- 
marked ribs ; bunches long, cylindrical, regular, compact ; berries round, golden- 
yellow, becoming amber-colored, very sweet and of marked aroma. Ripens a 
little later than the Chasselas." Bioletti. 

White Muscat of Alexandria.'* — "Vine a short, rather straggling and bushy 
grower, well adapted to short stool pruning, as it forms rather a bush than a 
vine; wood gray, with dark spots, short-jointed; leaf round, five-lobed, bright 
green above, lighter green below ; youno- shoots a bright ereen. The laterals pro- 
duce a second and even a third crop ; bunch long and loose, shouldered ; berry 
oblong, light yellow when fully mature, transparent, covered with white bloom, 
fleshy, with thick skin, very sweet and decidedly musky." — Husmann. The lead- 
ing table grape of California. Rejected for irregular bearing on some mesa lands 
in southern California. 

Muscatel Gordo Blanco. — "Muscatel Gordo Blanco has a closer bunch and 
rounder berry than the Muscat. The skin is softer and the pulp is not quite so 
hard. The berry inclines to be a little darker in color and not nearly so green 
when it is ripe, and I think not quite as long as the Muscat of Alexandria. If 
the Muscat would set as well as the Muscatel, the difficulty would be obviated. 
One very important difference is that when you come to dry them, the Muscat of 
Alexandria loses the bloom very rapidly. The bloom comes off when you come 
to dry and pack them. But the Muscatel does not lose its bloom. The Muscat 
of Alexandria has to be dried a little more than the Muscatel to bring it into a 
keeping condition under the same condition of ripeness." — R. B. Blowers. 

"The growth of the Muscatel or Gordo Blanco vine is low and spreading, with 
no upright branches in the center; clusters heavy, and, when perfect,_ close and 
shouldered; berries round and large (the greatest circumference being at the 
center), a crease often being found at the apex of the berry; color green, or, when 
fully ripe, amber green or yellow. Distinguished from Muscat of Alexandria 
by low, depressed growth of vine, closer cluster, rounder berries, and by thicker 
and finer bloom. The Muscatel is the choice raisin grape for the San Joaquin 
Valley, and for the interior generally." — Dr. Eisen. 

Huasco Muscat. — A variety brought from Chile, but after wide trial in Cali- 
fornia, seems not superior to the other White Muscat varieties previously men- 
tioned. Its dense cluster is not well adapted to raisin making. It is held, how- 
ever, to be less subject to coulure. 

Feher Szagos.—"Y'm& a strong grower and heavy bearer; branches erect but 
slender; leaves glossy, entire; bunches medium to small, pointed, and solid; ber- 
ries greenish amber, medium oval, pointed, with thin skin and few small seeds ; 
flesh not firm, but dries well and makes a good raisin." — Dr. Risen. 

Larga Bloom; syn. Uva Larga. — A variety of Muscat said to be named because 
of the length of its berries, but held by some growers to be indistinguishable from 
Muscatel Gordo Blanco. An excellent raisin grape, but now chiefly grown as a 
table fruit in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

*There is much doubt about the White Muscats as grown in California. Some claim 
inability to distinguish between certain grapes of the Muscat type which are being grown in 
this State under distinctive names; others pronounce them clearly different varieties. The 
matter can not be adjusted at present. 



GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 373 

White Malaga. — "Vine a strong grower; wood reddish brown, short-jointed; 
leaf medium, leathery smooth, deeplv lobed. lisrht shining green above; bunch very 
large, loose shouldered, long ; stem long and flexible ; berry very large, oval, 
yellowish green, covered with white bloom; thick skin, fleshy." — Husiiiauii. Grown 
in southern California in situations where the Muscat does not do well ; also 
elsewhere as a table grape, and to some extent in San Joaquin Valley for raisins. 

Sultana; syn. Seedless Sultaona. — "Vine vigorous, upright; leaves large, five- 
lobed, with rather large sinuses, light colored, and coarsclv toothed ; bunches 
large, long-cylindrical, with heavy shoulders or wings, well filled when not cul- 
tured, but not compacted : berries small, round, firm and crisp, golden-yellow, and 
without seeds." — Bioletti. In California the variety is apt to have some seeds. 
Tt has more acid, and therefore greater piauancv of flavor, than Thompson's 
Seedless, but the latter has recently far outstripped it in popularity among grow- 
ers. 

Thompson's Seedless. — Named by Sutter County Horticultural Society, after 
W. Thompson, Sr., of Yuba City, who nrocurcd the cutting in 1878. from Ellwan- 
ger & Barry, of Rochester. New York. Tt was by them described ass "a grape 
from Constantinople, named Lady Dccoverly." When it fruited in Sutter County, 
it was seen to be superior to the Sultana, and has been propagated largely. It was 
first widely distributed bv J. P. Onstott of Yuba City, and others, and is now to 
be found in all parts of the State. The variety is described by Dr. Eisen as 
follows: "Oval; greenish-yellow; as large as a Sultana; seedless, with a thin 
skin ; good, but not strong flavor, and without that acid which characterizes the 
Sultana grape and raisins; bunches large or very large; vine an enormoiis 
bearer." Mr. Bioletti considers the variety identical with the Sultanina of Asia 
Minor, and gives this description : "Vine very vigorous and with large trunk 
and very long canes; leaves glabrous on both sides, dark yellowish-green above 
and light below, generally three-lobed, with shallow sinuses, teeth short and ob- 
tuse, bunch large conico-cylindrical, well filled, on herbaceous peduncles ; berries 
under medium; ellipsoidol, crisp, of neutral flavor, with moderately thick skin of 
a fine golden-yellow color." 

Flame Tokay; svn. Flame-colored Tokay, Flaming Tokay. — "Vine a strong 
grower, large in all its proportions, wood, joints, leaves; wood, dark brown, 
straight, with long joints; leaves dark green, with a brownish tinge; lightly lobed; 
bunch very large, sometimes weighing eight to nine pounds, moderately compact, 
shouldered ; berry very large, oblong, red, covered with fine lilac bloom ; fleshy 
and crackling, firm; ripens late." — Husmann. The leading shipping grape of the 
State, quality low. Defective in color in some localities. 

Black Hamburg. — "Bunches, very large, from six to ten inches in length, very 
broad at the shoulders, tapering to a point gradually; berries very large, round, 
slightly inclining to oval; skin rather thick, deep purple, very black at maturity; 
very sugary, juicy, and rich." — Hyatt. A very popular market grape. 

Rose of Peru; syn. Black Prince (?).— "Vine a strong grower, with dark 
brown, short-jointed wood; leaf deep green above, lighter green and tomentosc 
below; bunch very large, shouldered, rather loose; berry round, large, black, with 
firm and crackling flesh, ripens rather late; a very handsome and productive 
variety, of good quality, but not adapted for long shipment." — Husmann. 

Moscatello Fino ; syns. Moscatello Nero, Black Muscat. — "Leaves of medium 
size, with deep upper and shallow lower sinuses, glabrous above, slightly downy 
below, and very hairy on the veins, teeth lone and sharp ; bunches large to very 
large, long, loose, conico-cylindrical, and winged ; berries very large, on long, 
thin pedicels; skin well colored, thin but tough; flesh soft and juicy, with deli- 
cate Muscat aroma. An excellent table graoe. It is a heavy bearer, and pro- 
duces very fine-looking bunches of dark colored grapes. Rather late." — Bioletti. 

Purple Damascus; syn. Black Damascus. — "Vine a medium grower; wood 
light brown striped with darker brown, short-jointed; leaf round, five-lobed, 
smooth, light green above, tomentose beneath ; stem reddish, large, long and 
woody ; bunch large, loose, shouldered ; berry very large, oblong, dark blue, cov- 
ered with lighter bloom, meaty, skin thick, ripens late." — Husmann. 



374 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Purple Cornichon; syn. Black Cornichon. — "Vine a heavy grower, with thick, 
light brown, short-jointed wood ; leaves large, longer than wide, deeply five-lobed, 
dark green above, and lighter and very hairv below, coarsely toothed, and with 
short, thick petiole; bunches very large, loose, on long pedunckles ; berries large, 
long, more or less curved, darkly colored and spotted, thick-skinned, and on long 
pedicles. Desirable on account of its attractive appearance, curious shape, excel- 
lent shipping qualities, and late ripening." — Bioletti. 

White Cornichon. — Resembles Purple Cornichon in shape and flavor, but has 
very thin and tender skin, which makes it better for the table, but poorer for 
shipping. Leaves not deeply cut ; smooth on both sides. 

Emperor. — "Vine a strong, vigorous grower ; leaves very large, with five shal- 
low lobes, short, obtuse teeth glabrous above, woolly beneath, light green in 
color ; bunches very large, long conical, loose, with large, dull purple, oval, firm 
berries." — Bioletti. An excellent shipping grape, largely grown by R. B. Blowers, 
of Woodland, Yolo County, by whom its merits were first announced. Pro- 
nounced unsatisfactory because of irregular setting and non-ripening in locali- 
ties near the coast in northern California, and generally condemned in southern 
California. Seems best adapted to interior situations and is chiefly grown for 
shipping in the San Joaquin Valley. 

Black Fcrrara. — A large black grape ; large bunches ; berries cling well to the 
stem, thick-skinned, flavor superior. An excellent local market variety and 
long-distance shipper. 

Gros Colman; syn. Dodrclahi. — "Vine strong-growing, with dark brownish 
wood; leaves very large, round, thick, very slightly lobed, shortly and bluntly 
toothed, glabrous above, close-woolly below ; bunches large, short, well filled, 
but not compact; berries very large, round, dark blue, with thick but tender skin. 
Remarkable as having the largest berries of any round berry variety known, 
and is probably the handsomest black table grape grown. The grapes have good 
keepins? qualities, except that they are liable to crack." — Bioletti. 

Black Morocco. — "Vine a strong grower, with thin, spreading canes, leaves, 
under medium size, very deeply five-lobed, even when very young, the younger 
leaves truncate at base, giving them a semi-circular outline, with long, sharp 
teeth alternating with very small ones, glabrous on both sides, bunches very 
large, short, shouldered, and compact ; berries very large, round, often angular 
from compression, fleshy, of neutral flavor, dull purple color or colorless in the 
center of the bunch. Remarkable for the number of second-crop bunches 
which it produces on the laterals. Late in ripening and of very fine appear- 
ance ; a fairly good shipping grape, but difficult to pack on account of the size 
and rigidity of the bunches. The grapes are of an agreeable crispness, but 
lacking in flavor." — Bioletti. Vine quite subject to root knot. 

Vcrdal; Aspiran Blanc. — "Vine of medium vigor and rather hardy ; canes 
somewhat slender and half erect ; leaves of average size, glabrous on both sur- 
faces, except below near the axils of the main nerves, sinuses well marked 
and generally closed, giving the leaf the appearance of having five holes ; teeth 
long, unequal, and somewhat acuminate ; bunches large to very large, irregular 
long-conical, without any or with small shoulders, well-filled to compact; berries 
yellowish-green, large to very large, crisp, with thick but tender skin, agreeable, 
but without marked flavor." — Bioletti. Largely grown as a late table grape ; 
in good condition ; in some regions as late as November. 

Almeria. — "Vine vigorous; leaves of medium size, round and slightly or not 
at all lobed, quite glabrous on both sides, teeth obtuse and alternately large and 
small; bunches large, loose or compact, irregular conical; berries from small to 
large, cylindrical, flattened on the ends, very hard and tasteless."— 5;'o/rf^;. The 
grape cultivated at the LIniversity experiment stations under this name is one 
of the several varieties which are shipped in such large quantities from Malaga 
and Almeria packed in sand or cork-dust. The grapes ripen late and attain 
about 20 per cent of sugar. They have remarkable keeping qualities. Vine 
needs long pruning, and is only adapted to hot, interior situations. 



WINE GRAPES FOR CALIFORNIA 375 

There are many other vinifera varieties which are grown to a Hm- 
ited extent either for raisins or for table use. Among these are the 
Canon Hall Muscat, the White Tokay, White Champion, Cinsaut, Za- 
balskanski, etc., for table use ; the White and Black Corinth, for dry- 
ing. With grapes, as with other market fruits, the planter usually 
confines his attention to a very few popular kinds. 



EASTERN GRAPES 

Though many of the improved varieties of the grape species indi- 
genous east of the Rocky Mountains, and of the hybrids between these 
species and the z'inifcra, have been introduced in California, their 
growth for table fruit is almost of insignificant proportions, and does 
not constitute even a respectable fraction of one per cent of our grape 
area. The popular taste decidedly prefers the vinifera varieties. There 
is, however, a variety believed to be of local origin, which is worthy 
of mention as follows : 

Isabella Rr^ia. — "A remarkable, giant-leaved, and very prolific sport of the 
Isabella, originating by bud-variation with Mr. J. P. Pierce, of Santa Clara. 
The berries, like the leaves, are of extraordinary size, and when ripe the fruit 
is exceedingly sweet and strongly aromatic. It is, therefore, acceptable as a showy, 
perfumed table grape, much liked by some, but readily surfeiting those who are 
accustomed to the vinifera grapes. The berries are too soft for shipment to 
any distance, but all things considered, keep fairly." — Hilgard. Grown as the 
"California Concord" in the Los Angeles region. 



WINE GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 

Progress is being continually made in the propagation of varieties 
yielding wine, and in the manufacture thereof. The hosts of consid- 
erations involved in this effort are beyond the scope of this work and 
largely beyond the writer's knowledge. It is important, however, to 
have an intelligent discussion of the suitability of varieties grown for 
this purpose, prepared by Mr. F. T. Bioletti, as follows: 

1. Vineyard for Sweet Wine in the Interior Valleys. 

Red Proportion 

Grenache /^ 

Alicante Bouschet /4 

Tinta Madeira % 

White Proportion 

Palomino /^ 

Beba % 

Boal 54 



376 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

The Grenache and Alicante Bouschet are heavy bearers with short 
pruning. The former naturally takes a port flavor and the latter in- 
sures sufficient color. The Tinta Madeira, when pruned properly, bears 
well and will increase the quality of the port wine. 

The Palomino is one of the heaviest and most regular bearers grown 
in California and is peculiarly suited for sherry making. It is the prin- 
cipal grape of the Spanish sherry district. The Beba bears nearly or 
quite as well as the Palomino and is of rather better quality. Both 
bear with short pruning. The Boal bears good crops and gives a sweet 
wine of high quality. 

2. Vineyard for Dry Wine in the Interior Valleys. 

White Proportion 

Valdepenyas V2 

Lagrain 34 

St. Macaire V^ 

Red Proportion 

Burger Vz 

West's White Prolific 34 

Vernaccia Sarda 34 



The Valdepenyas has been growing for nearly twenty years at the 
Tulare Experiment Station, and has always given regular and good 
crops with short pruning. The dry red wine made from it has been in 
every way satisfactory and much superior to that made from Bouschet, 
Zinfandel, or any of the varieties usually grown in the valley, and ap- 
proaches more nearly than any other variety the wines of the cooler 
localities. This variety has been planted to some extent in the cooler lo- 
calities, where it is completely out of place. In Napa its bearing is un- 
satisfactory and its wine harsh. The vine needs a hot climate to bring 
out its best qualities. The Lagrain and St. Macaire are valuable on 
account of their intense color, which at Tulare is equal to that of the 
Bouschets and is more stable. The St. Macaire is particularly recom- 
mended on account of its high acidity, which is extremely useful for the 
region. The Gros Mansenc retains its acid even better than the St. 
Macaire, and is also deeply colored, but it has not borne quite so well. 

The Burger has, fortunately, been planted extensively in the hotter 
parts of the interior, and probably no better choice could be made for 
the production of a cheap, light, neutral dry white wine in that region. 
Its acidity, which is excessive in the coast counties, is normal or even 
low in the interior. For this reason, and in order to give a little more 
character, it should be blended with such grapes as the West's White 
Prolific and the Vernaccia Sarda, which retain their acidity at Tulare 
better than any other white grapes tested. 



WINE GR.\PES FOR CALIFORNIA 377 

3. Vineyard for Dry Wine in the Coast Counties. 

Red Proportion 

Petite Sirah J4 

Beclan ^ 

Cabernet Sauvignoii %. 

White' Proportion 

Semillon J4 

Colombar ^ 

Sauvignon blanc ^ 

The conditions of soil and climate in the hills and valleys of the 
Coast Ranges are so varied that it is much more diffictilt to give recom- 
mendations that will be of general use than in the case of the interior 
valleys. In some parts of some of the valleys the soil is so rich and 
productive that it is possible to grow grapes as cheaply as in the in- 
terior. The grapes recommended for the interior, however, would not 
in most cases be suitable on the Coast, owing to the difference in cli- 
mate. As a rule the grapes which are suitable to the hill slopes will 
do well in the valley, making up in quantity what they lose in quality. 

Of the many scores of red varieties which have been widely grown 
in this region, the Petite Sirah has undoubtedly given the most gen- 
erally satisfactory results. Some growers are dissatisfied with its 
bearing, but most report that it produces as much as the zinfandel. 
Ungrafted, it reciuires long pruning. Its wine is of excellent quality 
but apt to be somewhat harsh. This harshness can be avoided by care- 
ful winemaking and by blending with a smooth variety such as the 
Beclan. The finest red wines which have ever been made in California 
are the product of the Cabernet Sauvignon. This variety, unfortu- 
nately, has been rejected almost everywhere on account of its light 
crops. Very satisfactory crops, however, can be obtained if care is 
taken in selecting cuttings for planting and a suitable system of prun- 
ing adopted. This variety, like most others, moreover, bears better 
when grafted on a suitable resistant stock. It is very much to be desired 
that a certain proportion of this variety should be planted in all the 
coast vineyards which are capable of producing a dry red wine of high 
quality. 

No white grape has given better results in both crop and quality 
than the Semillon. The Colombar (sometimes called the Sauvignon 
vert) has also proved itself a regular bearer, and, while not of such 
high quality as the Semillon, it blends very well with that variety and 
serves to modify its aroma, which is sometimes excessive. The Sau- 
vignon blanc increases the quality of the wine, but like the Cabernet, 
Sauvignon requires careful cutting, selection and pruning to give satis- 
factory crops. 



378 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

4. Vineyard for Dry Wine in the Cooler Parts of the Coast Counties. 



Red Proportion 

Beclan Va- 

Blue Portuguese J4 

White Proportion 

Franken Riesling Va 

Johannisberg Riesling Ya 



In certain parts of the coast counties, owing to the frequent occur- 
rence of ocean fogs, many varieties of wine grapes do not ripen their 
fruit properly. By a careful selection of varieties, however, good 
crops of well-ripened grapes may be obtained. It is in these localities 
that the finest light wines, those most nearly resembling the wines of 
the Rhine, can be produced. 

The Beclan has shown itself especially suited to this region, and 
has the great advantage of being very resistant to oidium. The Blue 
Portuguese is a good bearer, ripens easily, and blended with Beclan 
gives a good wine of Burgundy type. The best Riesling wines are 
grown near the coast and, undoubtedly, profitable vineyards of the 
Rhine varieties can be grown in this region if proper methods of 
grape-growing and wine-making are adopted. 

Undoubtedly there are many excellent varieties of grapes that could 
be grown with profit which are not mentioned in the foregoing lists. 
The varieties mentioned are simply those which have given evidence 
of being most generally adapted to the more usual cpnditions. 



PART FIVE: SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS 
CHAPTER XXIX 



DATE CULTURE IN OUR DESERT AREAS 

Ever since the arid, semi-tropical regions of the United States be- 
came known through the narratives of explorers, the date palm ( Phoe- 
nix dactylifera) has been projected as a plant likely to demonstrate 
commercial value in America like that which it has held for centuries 
in the arid regions of Asia and Africa. This idea was also cherished 
even at an earlier date by the Spanish missionaries who brought the 
palm to California, as will be described presently. During the last 
decade the problem of introducing and establishing a date-growing 
industry has been taken up more seriously and systematically than 
ever before and must now be looked upon as approaching successful 
solution. As, however, the undertaking is still in an experimental 
stage and appeals to relatively few people as a line of investment, no 
attempt will be made to discuss the date in detail. Instead, citation will 
be made of sources whence the reader who desires them can easily 
secure information of date-growing methods in the old countries, dis- 
cussion of their suitability to our conditions and suggestions of ways 
to enter upon date-growing in California.* 

The date palm was brought to California by the padres, and the 
oldest date trees in the State are the survivors of their early plant- 
ings. Such trees are found at the San Diego Mission. They are con- 
jectured to be more than a century old, and they have survived 
drought and neglect, making unsuccessful effort at fruiting, for, ac- 
cording to common report, the fruit does not ripen, but whether ow- 
ing to the unfavorable conditions indicated, or to lack of fertilization 
of the bloom, is not known. There are trees at Ventura, on the site of 
the garden of the old mission at San Buena Ventura, about forty feet in 
height and ten feet in circumference at the base, with long, graceful 
fern-like leaves, which put forth about thirty feet from the ground. 

The ill success of these old trees in the direction of fruit bearing 
probably long prevented further attention to the date as a profitable 
growth. Still there were date palms grown from seed of the com- 

* The Date Palm and its Utilization in the Southwestern States, by Walter T. Swingle, 
Bulletin 53, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., W'ashington, 1904. 

Date Varieties and Date Culture in Tunis, by T. H. Kearney, Bulletin 92, Ibid, 1906. 

Date Growing in Southern California, by S. C. Masin. Report of Riverside Fruit Growers' 
Convention, State Horticultural Commissioner, Sacramento, 1908. 

Also publications of Arizona Experiment Station, Tucson, and California Experiment Sta- 
tion, Berkeley. 

379 



380 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

mercial date planted here and there for ornament or out of curiosity, 
and in due course of time the fruit appeared. The first pubHc exhibi- 
tion of Cahfornia dates known to the writer was made at the Mechan- 
ic's Institute Fair, in San Francisco, in September, 1877. The fruit 
was grown on the south bank of Putah Creek, the northern boundary 
of Solano County, the situation being slightly above the level of the 
plain of the Sacramento Valley, which lies east of it. The plants were 
grown by the late J. R. Wolfskill, from seed of commercial dates pur- 
chased in San Francisco, and planted in 1858 or 1859. The seed ger- 
minated readily, and the young plants were set out in a row about one 
hundred feet south of Putah Creek, on a rich, fine, sandy loam, lying 
about twenty-five feet above the bed of the creek. The plants received 
good cultivation but no irrigation. This treatment was combined after 
the property passed into the hands of the late S. C. Wolfskill, the plants 
being allowed to remain in the row as originally planted, and they have 
attained great size, considering their crowded condition. 

Another bearing date palm stands about a mile eastward of the sit- 
uation just described, near the residence of the late J. R. Wolfskill. It 
was grown from seed of the date of commerce, which was planted in 
1863, and the tree bore its first fruit in 1880. Near it stands a taller 
date palm, which bears staminate bloom. This latter tree was origi- 
nally one of the row previously described, and was successfully moved 
to its present situation after attaining considerable size. 

The fruit of the two bearing palms differs notably in appearance. 
That of the first mentioned tree is of bright yellow color and angular 
outline ; that of the second tree is wine red, with smooth surface. 

During recent years the date has fruited at many places in Cali- 
fornia and Arizona. There is little doubt that it will succeed in any 
of the interior regions which have a sufficiently high summer tempera- 
ture, and even the so-called Colorado Desert may be dotted with groves 
of date palms as portions of it now are with groves of the majestic 
fan palm of California. 

Soils and Waters for the Date. — Until recently the date palm 
has only been planted on good orchard land, but, according to experi- 
ence in date-growing countries, the tree does not require rich soil, put 
on the contrary, will thrive in a soil poor in humus — too poor and too 
purely mineral for any other fruit tree ; and it produces the finest and 
best flavored dates, nourished by water too alkaline for man and beast 
to drink. These observations warrant the trials of the tree which are 
now being made in situations not adapted to other fruits. 

PROPAGATION OF THE DATE 

The date palm grows readily from the seeds of the dried date of 
commerce, and, as has been intimated, the trees now fruiting in this 
State have been obtained in this way. By the use of seed one gets, 



HOW TO GROW DATES 381 

however, only seedlings, and the chance of thus securing a really fine 
variety is probably not greater than with other fruit tree seedlings. In 
date-growing countries the best varieties are propagated by rooting the 
off-sets, sprouts, or suckers which appear at the base of the old palms. 
To secure the best foreign varieties such plants must be imported. The 
first successful enterprise of this kind was accomplished in the summer 
of 1890 by the United States Department of Agriculture, under the 
direction of H. E. Van Deman, then chief of the Division of Pomology. 
The plants were divided between New Mexico, Arizona and California. 
The plants for California were sent to the Department of Agriculture 
of the University of California, and were planted at the experiment sta- 
tions at Tulare and at Pomona, some of them being subsequently trans- 
planted to the United States Date Garden at Mecca in the Colorado 
desert region. Upon fruiting a number of these plants, they seemed 
to be only seedlings and not the best foreign varieties, as represented. 

A full account of this effort and its outcome is given in Bulletin 
29, of the Arizona Experiment Station. 

The United States Department of Agriculture undertook arrange- 
ments in 1899 for new importations, which were successfully made, 
but all that was anticipated in securing valuable varieties was not at- 
tained. Director R. H. Forbes, of the Arizona Experiment Station, 
writes in Timely Hints No. 72 (April, 1908) : 

"Several of the Old World varieties which have thus far fruited 
have failed to make good for various reasons. Some have required a 
longer growing season to mature ; others have soured in damp or cool 
weather, and still others do not appeal to the American consumer. A 
few varieties have proved acceptable in all respects, and to such as 
these we must look for future commercial developments." 

Of the foreign varieties thus introduced the following have been 
produced in small commercial quantities : Rhars, Tedalla, Birket el 
Haggi and Deglet Noor. 

Growing Palms from Seed. — Seeds taken from the dried dates 
of commerce germinate readily ; in fact, seedlings frequently appear in 
the gutters of unpaved streets where the seeds have been thrown dur- 
ing the rainy season. Director Forbes, of the Arizona Station, says 
that seeds will come up more promptly if first stratified. This may be 
done by taking a gasoline can or deep box and placing three inches 
of sand in the bottom after making a number of holes in it for drain- 
age. The seeds are placed upon this layer and the can or box filled with 
sand, the whole then being put in a sheltered place and kept moist from 
three to six weeks, when the seeds will be soft and ready for prompt 
growth when planted. The seedlings may be started in nursery rows 
for transplanting after one to three years, or if frequent irrigations 
may be relied on, in the field where the trees are to remain. 



382 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Dr. W. T. Swingle, whose work on date growing has already been 
cited, gives the following suggestions on the growing of seedlings and 
their subsequent handling to determine sex and to select bearing palms 
of desirable type : 

The seed should be planted rather thickly in well-drained beds of fertile soil, 
free from alkali. These beds should be watered frequently, as the young date 
seedlings need an abundance of moisture. If properly cared for, the seedlings 
will reach a height of from 12 to 18 inches the first year and can be transplanted 
into the permanent orchard the second year. 

These seedlings should be set out in rows about 30 feet apart and placed 5 or 
6 feet apart in the row. Ordinarily field crops can be grown between the rows 
until long after the palms come into bearing. After three or four years, when 
the young palms begin to flower, the male trees can be dug up and destroyed, 
thus thinning out about half of the trees. Then when the female trees come into 
fruit, those which yield decidedly inferior fruit can also be removed, so that 
finally about one-fourth of the original number of seedlings will be left standing. 
The spaces between the seedlings will be irregular and offshoots can be taken 
from the best sorts and planted where the largest gaps occur. By preventing 
offshoots from growing on the poorer sorts they will yield more fruit and finally 
can be destroyed and replaced by offshoots from some of the better sorts. In 
this way, by degrees, the orchard can be improved without expense for offshoots 
aside from the labor of planting them. 

Rooting Suckers. — Suckers taken off in warm weather and 
watered freely usually take root readily. Care should be taken not to 
let the plants dry. Director Forbes gives these points : Suckers should 
not be taken from the parent tree until they have attained a diameter 
of 5 to 6 inches and a weight of 15 to 20 pounds. Suckers should be 
removed by cutting in and down along the line of cleavage between 
them and the main trunk, with a strong chisel or a flat-pointed bar. 
If possible the cut should be carried down so as to bring away at least 
one or two sound roots. The leaves should be closely pruned and for 
shipment the cut bases had better be protected against drying out by 
layer of wet moss or similar material. In planting, the sucker should 
be set in previously irrigated and well settled soil to the depth of its 
greatest diameter, taking care that the center of the palm is not 
below the irrigating water level 

For convenience in irrigating, a shallow basin of earth should be 
made about the sucker, in which, to lessen evaporation and the rise of 
alkali, a mulch of fine barnyard litter three or four inches deep should 
be spread. The soil about the newly transplanted suckers should be 
kept constantly wet by frequent irrigations. Suckers should be cut 
and transplanted April to August, inclusive, but not during or ap- 
proaching cool weather. 

Bearing Age of the Date. — There is much difference in the ages 
at which the seedlings have come in fruit in the hands of different 
growers. Fruit has been reported on seedlings six years old and even 
on plants four years from the seed. Such early maturity must not, 
however, be generally expected. 

Blooming of the Date. — The date palm is dioecious, and, its 
staminate (male) and pistillate (female) blooms appearing on different 



BLOOM OF THE DATE PALM 383 

trees, it requires the association of the two for perfect fruiting. Grow- 
ing plants from seed, as already stated, leaves the grower in doubt as 
to the sex of his plants until they bloom. Usually one obtains a large 
preponderance of male plants. In propagating from suckers the new 
tree is of the same sex as the parent. It is advised to have about one 
male to twenty female trees. The pollen can be transported long dis- 
tances and maintains its vitality for a long time. 

Artificial fertilization of the bloom of the bearing palm has been 
found of advantage in this State and was probably first practiced by 
J. R. Wolfskin. Though the staminate tree was but a few feet away 
from the pistillate, the male bloom was broken in pieces and hung to 
the leaves of the female tree near to the pistillate flowers. It was 
found that the parts of the date cluster which are nearest to the sus- 
pended male blooms have more perfect fruit than the more distant 
parts. Other California date growers have had similar experience. 

In Winters the bearing date palms bloom in April and May, and 
the fruit ripens in November. 

Beauty of the Date Palm. — The date palm in fruit is a beau- 
tiful sight. The glaucous green pinnate leaves arch outward. Between 
two of these emerge the bright orange-yellow polished fruit stalks, 
which divide into a spray of slender bright yellow stems a foot or so in 
length ; and thickly set upon these in clusters are the various colored 
fruits covered with a rich bloom. It is a sight not easily forgotten by 
a lover of nature, and especially by one reared in a northern zone, the 
characteristic vegetation of which is so different. 



CHAPTER XXX 
THE FIG 

The fig is, perhaps, the grandest fruit tree of California. Its 
majestic size and its symmetry make it a crowning feature of the land- 
scape, and its dense foliage renders the wide space embowered by it a 
harbor of refuge from mid-summer heat, both for idlers and for the 
industrious. On adjacent farms in Pleasant's Valley, Solano County, 
there are large fig groves; one serves as a shelter for the packers of 
fruit from the contiguous orchard, and the other incloses and shades 
a croquet ground. Measurements of large trees are abundant, for 
old trees are numerous in the interior of the State, both in the valley 
and on the slopes of the Sierra foothills. At Knight's Ferry, in 
Stanislaus County, there is a fig tree sixty feet in height, with branches 
of such length as to shade a circle seventy feet in diameter. The trunk 
at the base is eleven feet around, and nine feet at a distance of three 
feet from the ground. A little higher the trunk divides into seven or 
eight large branches, each of which is nearly five feet in circumference. 
At thirty feet from the ground the limbs are seven and eight inches 
through. The largest grove is in the neighborhood of Knight's Ferry, 
and consists of fifteen massive black fig trees, which, though set sixty 
feet apart, mingle their branches overhead and form a network through 
which, in the summer, hardly a beam of light can pass. 

Such groves are frequently seen in the older settled parts of the 
State. Perhaps the most interesting single fig tree is that on Rancho 
Chico, quite near the residence of General Bidwell. It was planted in 
1856, and has attained a marvelous growth. One foot above the 
ground the trunk measures eleven feet in circumference ; the wide- 
spreading branches have been trained toward the ground and, taking 
root there, banyan-like, they now form a wonderful enclosure over one 
hundred and fifty feet in diameter, the tree is loaded every year. 

The crop on these large trees is proportionate to their size and, 
entering their area in the morning during the ripening season, one can 
scarcely step without crushing figs, though the fruit may be gathered 
up each day and placed in the sun for drying. 



REGIONS SUITED FOR THE FIG 

Though there are still many fine points to be determined as to 
what situations and conditions favor the production of the very finest 
figs, and there are indications that there is possibly much difference, 
it may be truly said that a very small part of the State is really un- 
suited to its growth. If one shuns the immediate coast of the upper 

384 



SOILS FOR THE FIG 385 

part of the State, where the summer temperature is too low for suc- 
cessful ripening, and keeps below the altitude of the mountains where 
winter killing of the tree is possible, he can grow figs almost anywhere. 
Selections of varieties adapted to particular situations has much to 
do with the success of the fig, as with other fruits, and, therefore, a 
broad statement of adaptability must be received with such an under- 
standing. The intrusion of the coast influences borne eastward by the 
winds of summer, as described in Chapter I, gives a night temperature 
too low for ripening of some varieties, which turn sour upon the trees. 
Present indications are that the finest dried figs, having the thinnest 
skin and the nearest approach generally to the fig of Smyrna, the 
commercial standard for dried figs, will be produced in the drier por- 
tions of the valleys and foot-hills. Even in Southern California fig- 
souring is quite prevalent, and selection of locations must be circum- 
spectly made. More time is requisite for the final demonstration of 
these matters, although years have already been devoted to the problem. 



SOILS FOR THE FIG 

As it must be left with the future to determine the mooted point as 
to the influence of special situations upon the bearing of the fig, and 
the more minute characteristics of the fruit, so more experience is 
needed to demonstrate the comparative effects of different soils. It 
might seem, from the fact of the age of our trees in different parts of 
the State, that time enough had elapsed to determine these points, but 
it must be remembered that all our oldest trees are of the very hardy 
variety found at the missions, and conclusions drawn from them as to 
all varieties are unsafe. 

The fig will thrive in any soil that one would think of selecting for 
any of our common orchard trees, and, in fact, the fig succeeds on a 
wider range of soils than any one of them. One is safe in planting figs 
for family use, or for marketing, wherever the summer temperature 
is high enough to ripen the fruit well, and the winter temperature 
high enough to preserve the life of the tree. This applies merely to 
the successful growth of the fig; to secure ripening at a time when 
the fruit can be profitably sold for table use, is another question. 

The selection of soils especially suitable to the production of the 
best figs for drying involves more considerations than rule in the 
growth of table fruit. For drying, the fig should attain a good size, 
but should not contain excess of moisture. In some parts of the State 
the first crop of figs in the season has been found unfit for drying. The 
second, and, in some localities, the third crop, appearing later in the 
season, when the moisture supply of the soil is reduced, dry well. 
This condition of the first crop is, however, affected by local condi- 
tions, for there are places in the Sierra foothills where the soil 



386 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

moisture has to be replenished early in the season by irrigation to 
prevent even the first crop from falling prematurely, and subsequent 
irrigation brings to perfection the second and third crops. The fig 
tree needs plenty of moisture in the soil, but not too much. As with 
other fruits, if the soil does not retain the needed amount naturally, 
it must be supplied by irrigation wisely administered. 



PROPAGATION OF THE FIG 

The fig grows very rapidly from cuttings, and this is the chief 
method of propagation. Cuttings should be made while the tree is 
fully dormant, in the winter, of well-matured wood of the previous 
season's growth, giving preference to the stocky, short- jointed shoots, 
and making the cuttings about six to eight inches in length. The cut 
at the lower end should be made at the joint, or where solid wood is 
found. The planting and care of the cuttings is essentially the same 
as of vine cuttings, already described. If well made and cared for, a 
very satisfactory growth is made the first season, and the trees are 
ready for planting out in permanent place the following season. 

Single Bud Cuttings. — If one desires to multiply a new variety 
very rapidly, single-eye cuttings will make plants. This is, also, analo- 
gous to single-eye grape cuttings, as already described. 

Budding the Fig. — The foregoing means enable one to propa- 
gate a fig so rapidly that recourse is not had to budding, as in propa- 
gating other trees ; still, budding is feasible, either on small plants or 
on young shoots of old trees which it is described to bud over. 

The fig may be budded by the common shield method, as used for 
ordinary fruit trees, and described in Chapter IX, but owing to the 
tendency of the fig bark to shrink in drying, the bud should be closely 
bound in with a narrow waxed band, to exclude the air. As the bark 
is thick, it is often desirable to cut out a little of the edges closest to 
the bud when in place. 

Another method of budding the fig is by annular or "ring budding," 
a method also relied upon with the walnut and chestnut. Annular 
budding is done in the fall. A circular ring of bark is taken off from 
the stock by the aid of a budding knife, by running two circular cuts 
around the stock, and a longitudinal one between the two circular cuts ; 
the ring of bark taken off must be at least one inch wide, and from that 
up to two inches. A like ring of bark is taken off in the same manner 
from a scion of the variety to be budded in, and from a branch of the 
year, or preceding one, well in sap, and having about the same diameter 
as the stock. This ring should have on it one or two buds. It must 
fit exactly the space prepared on the stock, and more particularly at 
the lower circular cut, so that both barks will exactly unite at that 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING THE FIG 387 

point. When the ring is too long, a little bit of it might be cut off 
with a very sharp knife till it fits well ; if the ring is too large for the 
stock, a longitudinal strip would be cut out, and if too narrow, such 
a strip, if with a bud on so much the better, will have to be used to 
fill up the empty space. One must be very careful while drawing the 
knife around the stock not to go too deep into the wood to injure the 
cambium layer, or to weaken the stock. Tie a bandage pretty firmly 
over the whole. After two or three weeks the bandage has to be taken 
off, and, in the ensuing spring, the top of the stock or limb is cut down 
three inches above the budding. 

Another way of working such trees is by "whistle budding," which 
is done in the spring, when the sap is well up. The stock and scion 
must be both of the same size and well in sap. The top of the stock 
is cut down to several inches from the ground ; a circular ring of bark 
is then taken off, and a corresponding ring from the scion, but without 
a longitudinal cut, is put in its place. In inserting it care should be 
taken that the top of the stock, which is to receive the ring from the 
scion, be very smooth, and the latter is then easily pushed down around 
it and bandaged. In the case of the fig, it is especially desirable to use 
the latter method when the sap is up, because if the top of the stock is 
not removed, the exudation from above sours around the bud and jire- 
vents the union of stock and bud. 

To prepare an old tree for budding over, the limbs may be cut back 
in February within two to six feet of the trunk, covering the ends with 
paint of grafting wax. Allow two shoots to start near the end of each 
of these amputated limbs, and rub off all other shoots. Ikit the shoots 
when they attain the thickness of one's finger, taking green buds from 
the growth it is desired to introduce, or let them grow and bud in the 
fall, which ever is most convenient ; or bud in the growing shoot, and 
rebud in the fall where buds have failed. 

Grafting the Fig, — The fig can be grafted by the cleft-graft 
method, as described in Chapter IX, but the cleft should be made to one 
side of the stub and not through the central pith. Especial care must 
be taken in excluding the air. Fill the cleft between the scions with 
warm wax, which will run in and fill the cavity. Then bind the stock 
with wax bands, taking the greatest care to cover the exposed wood 
surface, the cut end of the bark (which in the fig is very prone to 
shrink and draw back), and as far down the stock as the bark has 
been split. 

Cut the shield from a iimb of about y'2 inch in diameter, length of shield about 
IJ^ inches, its thickness from H to ^ inch, and its bud near the middle of the 
shield. Do not remove the wood from behind the bud. Make a cut in the stock, 
through the bark and into the wood, its length and width a little greater than 
those of the shield. Insert the shield into the cut, so that the inner bark of the 
top of the shield and cut will coincide, so that one side of shield and cut — and 
I'oth sides, if practicable— will coincide. Place the flap of the cut over the shield 
(removing a part of the flap so the bud will not be covered), and fasten flap, 



388 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

shield and stock together very firmly with twine, and protect them with paper 
tied around them. They may be grafted in that mode, whenever dormant buds 
are found, for the shields. Twenty-four shields were inserted at several times, 
during one spring, and there was only one failure. 

A method of bark grafting applied to the fig by George C. Roeding 
of Fresno and approved by him after several years of successful ex- 
perience, afifords an excellent way of grafting over large trees. It 
does away with splitting the stock and therefore hastens the barking- 
over of an amputation. The branches to be grafted are cut off within 
18 to 24 inches from the point of divergence from the main body of 
the tree, allowing at least two branches to remain, one of which should 
be on the southwest, if possible, so that the grafts will be protected 
from the afternoon sun. 

After having sawed off the branches, the stumps neatly smoothed 
over, with a sharp knife, so as to have a clean, smooth surface, par- 
ticularly along the edge, two, four or six scions should be placed on 
each stock, the number, of course, being regulated by the size of the 
stump. Cut out a V-shaped piece of bark. The distance from the top 
of the stock to the point of the V should be about 1 ^ inches. 

Another method is to make slightly outward and downward cuts 
into the stub with a sharp knife, so as not to cause a split, but rather 
deep, clean cuts, into which the wedge-shaped scions are firmly pushed 
and a cord wound around the stub to hold all strongly in place before 
waxing thoroughly. This form of grafting will be shown in the chap- 
ter on the walnut, for it is very successfully used on that tree also. 

The form of side-graft with a saw cut as described in the chapter 
on the peach is also available. A form of bud-graft, that is, budding 
with a large shield into old bark, is also successful. Judge Rhodes of 
San Jose describes his method, both with the olive and the fig, in this 
way: 

Select a scion of the proper size, never be smaller than an ordinary 
lead pencil. As a rule scions from two-year-old wood, with very little 
pith and with a diameter of about ^ inch, will give the best results. 
The scions should have a sloping cut at the lower end, with the bevel 
all on one side and not like a wedge. The bevel should be as long or 
a little longer than the V-shaped opening in the stock and should fit 
snugly into this opening, so that the bark on both edges of the scion 
touches the bark of the stock. After the scions are placed, wrap tightly 
with five or six-ply cotton twine, and cover the wounds as well as the 
stub with liquid grafting wax. Wax the top of the scion to prevent 
drying out. If waxed cloth is used it must be removed before the 
warm weather sets in or the bark will be smothered and will die. 
After the scions have become well united, which takes from two to 
three months, the strings should be cut. This method of grafting can 
not be made successfully until the sap begins to flow, say from the 
latter part of February to the first of April. The scions should never 
be more than four inches long. 



PLANTING AND PRUNING THE FIG 389 

Seedling Figs. — Figs are readily grown from the imported fig 
of commerce. Dr. Gustav Eisen of San Francisco, our leading writer 
on the fig. gives the following explicit directions for growing the fio- 
from seed : 

Cut open imported Smyrna figs; wash out the seeds in warm water, those 
that float are empty and worthless; those that sink are generally fertile. Sow 
these in shallow boxes of sand and loam mixed, and place in a frame under 
glass. In three weeks they will be up and must be very sparingly watered. 
Set out next season in nursery row. In three years from the seed such plants 
will be found to bear. 

The tendency of the plants grown from Smyrna figs is to revert 
to the wild type, and there is a small chance of securing good varieties. 



PLANTING AND PRUNING THE FIG 

The chief point to observe in planting the fig trees is to get them 
far enough apart, because of the great spread of branches which they 
attain. Of course they may be planted twenty feet apart if the owner 
intends to remove alternate rows, but to plant at forty feet, or even 
farther apart, with other fruit trees or vines between, on the plan of 
alternate or double squares, described in Chapter X, would be the best 
way to lay out a fig orchard — tiie intermediate growths to be removed 
as the figs require more room. 

Very handsome effects are produced by planting the figs along 
avenues to inclose orchards of other fruits. Fig trees are grand for 
shade around buildings, and wild or Capri figs are desirable to plant 
in this way for a purpose which will be mentioned later. 

In transplanting fig trees extra care must be taken to keep the 
roots from drying. After planting, the stem must be diligently guarded 
from sunburn, to which it is liable in the warmer parts of the State. 

Pruning the Fig. — The fig requires very little pruning after its 
shape is outlined. There is difference of opinion and practice as to 
the height at which the head should be formed ; some head nearly as 
low as already advised for cominon orchard trees ; others, having in 
mind the immense thickness attained by the limbs, and their disposition 
to droop, head as high as four to six feet, which is the better way to 
proceed when the trees are wide-spaced and expected to attain large 
size. 

In shaping the tree, branches should be brought out at a distance 
apart on the stem, so that there may be room for their expansion 
without crowding each other, and care should be taken not to leave 
too many main limbs. Three limbs, well placed around the stem, are 
enough. The branches putting out on the under side of these limbs 
should be suppressed, and those growing upright, or obliquely upright, 
retained. As the fig has pithy shoots it is very desirable to cover all 
cuts with paint or wax. After getting the general shape of the tree 



390 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

fixed, there is little need of pruning' except to remove defective branches 
or those which will cross and interfere with each other and to prevent 
the interior of the tree from becoming too dense. It is better to remove 
branches entirely than to shorten them ; or, in shortening, always cut 
to a strong lateral. Stubs left at pruning are very undesirable in the 

fig. 

Cultivation. — Young fig orchards are cultivated as are other 
fruit areas. Old trees which completely shade the ground are usually 
left to themselves, without cultivation, except cutting out weeds. Irri- 
gation is governed by local conditions, as already stated. In starting 
the orchard it is exceedingly important that the young trees should 
not be allowed to suffer from drying out of the soil. 

Bearing Age of the Fig. — The fig often, and, perhaps, usually, 
begins its bearing very early, in the most favorable situations in this 
State. Some fruit is often had the second year, and a crop worth 
handling the third year. Still, it is wiser not to calculate definitely 
upon such returns, for four or five years sometimes pass without a 
satisfactory crop. We have, also, instances of "barren fig trees," which 
persist in "dropping their untimely figs," year after year, during their 
youth. How much of this is due to variety, and how much to locality, 
is not definitely known, but successful fruiting has been secured by 
grafting over barren trees, using scions from bearing trees growing 
adjacent to them. This has no relation to the subject which will be 
next discussed. 

CAPRIFICATION* 

Caprification consists in suspending the fruit of the wild or Capri 
fig in the branches of the tree of improved variety, that the pollen may 
be carried by an insect from the former to the latter. Until the present 
decade California has never been able to produce dried figs equal to 
the fig of commerce or the Smyrna fig. This was, at first, thought 
to be due to lack of the Smyrna variety. After painstaking effort this 
variety was introduced. Trees grew readily from the cuttings ; fruit 
appeared upon them and dropped before maturity. Doubt then arose 
as to whether importers had not been deceived, and other efforts were 
made which resulted in other importations. These also cast to the 
ground immature figs. Discussion turned then upon the fact of caprifi- 
cation — the necessity of having the fruit of the Capri or wild fig 

* In a general treatise like this only a passing reference can be made of this subject, 
which is perhaps the most interesting in the whole realm of entomo-horticuUure. The fig 
grower should secure the following monographs: "Smyrna Fig Culture in the United States," 
by L. O. Howard. Year Book of U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1900; "The Fig— its History, 
Culture and Curing," by Gustav Eisen, Bulletin No. 9, Div. of Pomology, U. S. Dept. of 
Agr., 1901; "The Smyrna Fig at Home and Abroad," by George C. Roeding, Fresno, Cal., 
1903; "Some Points in the History of Caprification in the Life History of the Fig," by 
W. T. Swingle; Report of Riverside Fruit Growers' Convention, 1908; "The Latest. Develop- 
ment in Fig Culture," by G. P. Rixford, Pacific Rural Press, December 18 and 25, 1909; 
also December 17, 1910. 



THE SMYRNA FIG 391 

adjacent to the fruit of the Smyrna fig so that insects from the Capri 
might visit the fruit of the improved variety and polhnate its inclosed 
flowers, which, appearing upon the inner wall of an almost closed 
cavity, could not be reached by ordinary visiting insects. The wild 
trees had already been introduced and were freely growing near the 
others, but this fact availed nothing — the figs fell just the same from 
the Smyrna trees. In 1890 Mr. George C. Roeding, of Fresno, essayed 
to demonstrate the fact that the Ijick of the pollination was the secret 
of failure, and he succeeded in introducing the Capri pollen into the 
eye of the Smyrna fig, and secured thereby the retention of such 
pollinated figs upon the trees, and when ripened and dried these had 
the Smyrna character. The demonstration was complete than Cali- 
fornia could not grow Smyrna figs without the pollinating agency 
found to be essential to success in Smyrna. This agent is a minute 
wasp called the blastophaga — an insect so minute that it can make its 
way through the mesh of ordinary cheese-cloth and can enter the al- 
most closed eye of the young Fig — so minute that a magnifying glass 
is necessary to give one any clear idea of its outline. For years con- 
stant effort has been made by various parties to secure the introduc- 
tion of this insect. Urgent appeals were made to the United States 
Department of Agriculture, after private undertakings failed, to secure 
the insect alive or otherwise in form for permanent residence. In 
April, 1899, the feat was accomplished, the blastophagas being received 
from Algiers as collected and forwarded by W. T. Swingle to Mr. 
Roeding. Their offspring appeared in large numbers during the sum- 
mer and fall of the same year. On the basis of this achievement the 
commercial production of a true Smyrna fig in California began and 
has rapidly developed. Mr. Roeding gave his product the musical 
patronymic "Calimyrna," which now adheres also to the variety from 
which it is produced. 

It is an interesting fact that after this strenuous work was success- 
fully accomplished it was ascertained that the fig wasp had really 
reached California without assistance before 1880 and has been estab- 
lished in San Joaquin county since that remote date. 

To avail himself of the benefits of caprification, every grower 
of varieties which require it must also grow suitable' Capril figs and 
establish the insect in them. California nurserymen supply these and 
the insects also when the trees are of suitable age to receive them. 

FOES OF THE FIG 

The fig is freer from insect pests than other fruit trees, and yet it 
is a mistake to consider it wholly free. The writer has seen the leaves 
well covered with a lecanium scale and has found a moth larva boring 
in the pith of the young shoots ; still, practically, the fig tree in Cali- 
fornia has not yet suffered from insects. 



392 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The gophers have a pronounced appetite for fig roots, and their 
presence should be carefully watched for. Swine have a liking for fig 
bark. The trees of the grand grove planted at Hock Farm, on the 
Feather River, by General Sutter, were completely girdled from the 
ground as high as. a pig could reach by standing on its hind legs. 
Figs make good food for hogs, and plantations have been made with 
this in view, but if the hogs are to be harvesters, it will be well to 
protect the stems of the trees from them. 



VARIETIES OF THE FIG 

The fig presents what may be termed an aggravated example of 
the confused nomenclature which pervades California fruits. Dr. Eisen 
has made a commendable effort to bring order out of chaos by a study 
of foreign records and locally-grown fruit, and has published a cata- 
logue of varieties chiefly grown in California, with descriptions of each 
in Bulletin 5 of the Division of Pomology of the U. S. Department of 
Ao-riculture.* The following enumeration is largely restricted to 
varieties which have been commercially propagated : 

Adriatic. — Size, medium, roundish; neck medium; stalk short; ribs obscure; 
eye open, with red iris; skin very thin, greenish in the shade, yellowish in 
the sun; pulp bright strawberry red or white, with violet streaks in the meat; 
varies in quality according to location. This has been found very useful in 
California, but is not of fine flavor when dried. It requires rich soil, with con- 
siderable moisture and a very large percentage of lime. This variety is not 
identical with that known in Italy as Adriatic. 

Agen. — Medium size, roundish; skin bright green, cracking longitudinally 
when ripe, showing white bands; flesh deep red, very rich; a good bearer, but 
very late, requiring a long hot season. 

Angeliquc; syn. Angelica. — Medium, pyriform ; ribs prominent; yellowish 
white ; pulp white, with rose-colored center : leaves five-lobed. A very good 
variety in some of the coast valleys. 

Bardajic. — "Very large, obovate, pyriform, long neck and stalk, skin very 
thin, grayish green ; pulp rich crimson, fine table fig and largest of Smyrna 
class." — Roeding. 

Bcllona. — Large, pyriform, dark purple, red flesh, fine flavor when dried. 

Black Bulletin Smyrna. — Large, obtuse, pyriform, short neck, long stalk, 
light purple, flesh pink, luscious. 

Black Smyrna. — Small, globular, short stem, pulp dark amlier, good for 
home use. 

Bourjassottc, White; syn. Barnissotte, White. — Medium, round and some- 
what flattened, eye large, sunk ; skin waxy, green ; pulp bright red. A very fine 
fig. Tree very large. 

Brown Turkey. — Large, turbinate, pyriform, with hardly distinct neck; stalk 
short; apex flattened; ribs few; slightly elevated; eye medium, slightly open, 
scales large; skin smooth, greenish to violet-brown in sun, with darker ribs; 



*A much fuller discussion of fig varieties is to be found in Dr. Eisen's Bulletin 9, 
already cited. Many notes are made of the fruiting in the late John Rock's collection on 
the grounds of the California Nursery Co., at Niles, Alameda County, of many introduced 
varieties which have not been commercially propagated in California. 



FIGS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 393 

pulp dark rosy red, quality good, and tree a good bearer. Brunswick is fre- 
quently confounded with this fig. A distinct variety is grown in Vacaville as 
Brown Turkey, which is named by Dr. Eisen "Warren." 

Brunszi'ick. — Very large, pyriform, with swollen cheeks, one of which is 
larger than the other; apex very obtuse; neck and stalk very short; ribs dis- 
tinct, but not much elevated ; eye medium, open ; skin nale amber, with violet 
tint; pulp amber. An early, large fig, but lacking flavor. Very common; re- 
quires rich, moist soil. 

Celeste, JVhife. — Very small, amber ; suitable for preserves. 

Celeste, Blue; syn. Violette. — Small, ovate, turbinate; ribs few, but distinct, 
especially near apex; eye raised, rough; color dark violet amber, without red- 
dish blush ; bloom confined to the neck ; skin thin ; pulp deep rose ; meat amber, 
sweet, but lacking in flavor. 

Checker Iiiittr. — "Roundish, oblate, short neck, flesh reddish, skin greenish 
yellow, very thin, dries well." — Roediii!^. 

Col. de Siiiiiora Bianeo. — Medium sized, pyriform; long riblied neck; skin 
green, changing to yellow ; flesh deep red, very rich and luscious a strong 
grower; late, suited for a warm region. 

Datiphinc. — Large, round turbinate, purple with blue bloom; flesh amber. 

Doree. — Medium, oblong, bright yellow, flesh rose-color. 

Dottato. — Medium ovate, pyriform; neck well set; stalk very short or none; 
ribs low; skin smooth; eye medium; skin thin, vellowish green, meat white; 
pulp yellowish amber, sometimes with violet flush. One of the best figs for 
drying; tree a strong grower, requiring moist, ricli soil. Lately introduced into 
California. 

Drap d'Or. — Large, pyriform, with very low neck and stalk; ribs elevated; 
apex obtuse and concave; color light violet-reddish amber, not dark; pulp 
rosy red. A fig of very fine quality; especially useful for confections and 
crystallizing; not identical with Brunswick. 

Du Roi. — Above medium; round, pyriform; stalk verv short; eye large or 
variable, with scales standing out; sl<in smooth, pale bluish green; pulp amber, 
with rosy streaks and exceedingly minute seeds. Related to Marseillaise and 
Athens, and one of the very best figs in California for drying. 

Early J'iolet. — Small to very small, round turbinate ; neck distinct but short ; 
stalk medium to long; ribs distinct, elevated; skin rough; violet-brown, with 
thin pearl-colored bloom ; pulp red. This variety bears almost continuously 
and is preferable to the Ischias and Celeste. 

Genoa, White. — Above medium, pyriform; neck small; stalk short; ribs in- 
distinct; skin downy; eye very small; skin pale olive-green; pulp pale rose. 
One of the better figs, quite distinct from IMarseillaise. 

Gentile. — Very large ; ovate pyriform ; neck short but distinct ; stalk very 
short; skin uneven, with ridges; eye very large, open, with projecting scales; 
color greenish yellow, spotted with white; pulp amber, streaked with rose; 
seeds few but very large. Only the first crop of this variety ripens. It is of 
the San Pedro tribe. One of the best early figs. 

Grosse Grise Bifere. — ^Medium ovate pyriform; neck very short; stalk short; 
ribs distinct; eye small; skin downy, dark violet amber, pale olive in shade; 
the bloom is separated by a distinct line from the apex ; pulp deep red. A 
tender, good fig. 

Hirtu du Japan. — Medium size, roundish with long stalks ; skin very dark ; 
flesh opaline; quality best; very prolific. 

Ischia, Black. — Small ; neck short ; stalk medium ; skin smooth ; color dark 
violet black, greenish around the apex ; neck dark ; eye medium, open ; bloom 
thin, dark blue; pulp red. Of fair quality but small size. 



394 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Ischia, White. — Size below medium, round, with small neck ; stalk verv 
short ; eye open ; skin smooth, bluish green, with brown flush ; pulp rosy red. 
Common in California. 

Kassaba. — "Medium to large, globular, flattened, short neck and stalk, pale 
green, pulp reddish, very sweet, dries well. Tree handsomest of Smyrna vari- 
eties." — Rocding. 

Ladaro. — Very large, oblong, pale yellow, brown cheek, flesh deep red, rich 
and sugary. 

Magdalen {Madeleine). — Below medium, round; ribs distinct, rough, dis- 
appearing around the eye ; stalk longer than the fig, eye open, large ; skin 
greenish yellow; pulp amber white. A verv delicious fig. superior to the Ischias 
and Celeste. Not synonymous with Angelique. 

Marseillaise, Long. — Large, longer than wide ; skin thick, with brownish 
shade ; pulp dull red. Requires moist soils. A fair fig, which dries well. Not 
related to either Black or White Marseillaise. 

Marseillaise, White. — Medium ovate, pyriform ; neck short; stalk medium; 
ribs numerous and distinct; apex flattened; eye large, open; skin downy, pale 
yellowish green, mottled with white ; pulp amber, with a few large seeds. One 
of the best figs for drying. Requires sandy, rich soil. 

Mission, Black.— Medium to large, turbinate; neck long; stalk short; ribs 
distinct; eye prominent, open; skin rough, deep mahogany violet, with red 
flush; pulp not fine, red but not bright or brownish amber; sweet, but not high- 
flavored ; common in the Southern States, California and Mexico. The oldest 
fig in this country. 

Monaco Bianco; syn. White Monaco. — Large, rounded, turbinate: flattened, 
neck small but very distinct ; ribs numerous ; eye very open ; skin dark bluish 
green, with thin bloom; pulp dark-red rose. A most excellent fig for table, 
one of the best in California. 

M ouissouna.—G\oh\\\?ir, turbinate, flattened, dark violet, blue bloom, oulp 
red, soft and sweet. 

Pacific White. — An unknown variety found growing on a farm in Placer 
County. Medium size, fine grained, very sweet, dries well, but the skin is 
thicker and more tough than the imported fig. That and its small size are 
the only objections to it. It is quite widely distributed in Southern California. 

Pastiliere. — Large, 3 inches by 1^: elongated, pyriform, with long neck; 
stalk short ; eye closed, surrounded by an elevated iris ; skin rough, hairy, with 
blue bloom ; pulp red. Fine for preserves. 

Ronde Noire. — Large, round, but irregular; neck distinct, short; eye small; 
skin smooth, waxy, dark violet brown ; pulp amber. Greatly to be recommended 
as a table fig. Is not related to Black Ischia or Osborn Prolific. 

Ronde Violctte Ha t ire. —harge, globular, with no neck; glossy green, shaded 
violet brown ; eye large ; flesh amber, surrounding rose center. 

Rose Blanche. — Large, roundish, flattened ; long stalk ; brown or white 
ground ; flesh bright red. Suitable for table and drying. 

Royal J^ineyard.- — ]\Iedium, pyriform, long, slender neck; reddish brown, blue 
bloom; eye large, open; flesh bright red. 

San Pedro, White: syn. Brcbas.— Very large, round, flattened at ape.x; stalk 
and neck short; eye open; skin thick, tender, of a bright yellow color or 



FIGS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 395 

greenish in the shade, without bloom ; pulp amber. A remarkable and hand- 
some fig. Only the first crop matures without caprification. Suited only for 
table use. Requires moist, rich soil. 

San Pedro, Black. — Very large, elongated ovate, with no stalk, but with 
well-set neck ; skin smooth, violet black with green neck, pulp red, coppery. 
tinted violet. For table use. The largest fig known. 

Smyrna (Fig of Commerce, Drying fig of Smyrna, Calimyrna). — Of several 
attempts to secure the true Smyrna fig, or the variety which produces the well- 
known Smyrna fig of commerce, that made by the San Francisco Bulletin, and 
managed by G. P. Rixford, has achieved most prominence, and is now generally 
conceded to have proved successful. Fourteen thousand cuttings were obtained 
through United States Consul E. J. Smithers, in 1882, and a large part of these 
were distributed throughout the State. A later direct importation of fig cut- 
tino-s from Smyrna was made by the Fancher Creek Nursery, of Fresno. These 
trees have already borne fruit, as has been described in a preceding paragraph 
on caprification. In the summer of 1890 cuttings imported from Smyrna by the 
United States Department of Agriculture were sent to several parties in this 
State. As the fig insect has fully established itself, as described on a previous 
nage, this variety will establish itself as the leading drying fig, here as a 
Smyrna, and a very important industry will be established upon it. Other figs 
previously called Smyrna in this State are misnamed. 

The Rixford Fig. — There are, however, new varieties of direct Smyrna 
parentage attracting attention in this State. The planting of Smyrna fig seed 
by Mr. E. W. Maslin, at Loomis, in 1886, has yielded several varieties which 
Mr. W. T. Swingle described in the Pacific Rural Press of February 27, 1909, 
as of decided promise, and at least two of them represent a new type of drying 
figs, decidedly different from any of the varieties of the Smyrna fig as yet im- 
ported from the Old World. These new varieties, which might be called 
self-sealed figs, sliow a drop of pellucid gum completely filling the very narrow 
mouth of the fruit when it matures. As the figs dry and shrivel on the tree 
and fall to the ground, the drop of gum hardens and hermetically seals the 
mouth, effectually preventing the entrance of filth, beetles, pomace flics and 
other insects. Such figs do not sour, since the germs causing fermentation 
are unable to effect an entrance to the pulp within. One of the self-sealing 
varieties was discovered late in October, 1908, by Mr. A. H. Rrydges of Loomis, 
through the circumstance that the fruit had withstood uninjured two soaking 
rains that had ruined the figs on the adjoining trees, which, being seedHngs, 
were all different varieties, and not self-sealed. The best studied of the self- 
sealed figs Mr. Swingle has named "Ri.xford," in honor of Mr. G. P. Rixford, 
whose early service in the introduction of the Smyrna fig has been mentioned 
above. The figs are of medium size (about 1^ to 2 by 1^ to 2 inches) with a 
short stalk. The skin is pale in color, very thin and tender, often translucent 
and amber colored in the figs that have cured on the ground. The pulp is 
light amber colored, full of fertile seeds, sweet and of excellent flavor. The drop 
of hardened gum that closes the mouth is usually from one-sixteenth to one- 
eighth inch in diameter, sometimes concealed just within the mouth, but usually 
partly protruding outside. The Rixford tree is of free growth, having a 
spread of perhaps 50 feet, though grown from seed planted in 1886 and set 
out in 1887. 

Vcrdal, Round. — Below medium, round oyriform without stalk or neck ; 
skin smooth, waxy, bluish green ; eye closed ; pulp dark, blood red. A small 
fig, but valuable for canning and preserves; better than the Tschias or Celeste. 
It does well in the Santa Clara Valley, but is inferior in the interior of the 
State. 

White EndicJi. — A re-named variety. Medium, golden yellow, pulp white 
tinged with pink ; tree prolific and long ripening season. 

Verdal Longtie. — Medium, oblong, turbinate ; stalk and neck short ; eye 
closed ; yellow, ribs brownish ; flesh red ; sweet aromatic. 

Zimitza. — Large, pyriform, greenish yellow amber flesh ; good grower and 
bearer. 



396 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 




Rixford Fig showing the Gum Drop. 




Original Rixford Fig Tree at Loomis. 



THE GUM DROP FIG 397 

There are many undetermined varieties of the fig grown here 
and there in the State. Some may be finally identified, others may 
be new. Some of them yield an excellent dried fruit and should be 
more carefully experimented with. During the last decade there has 
been a marked decline in interest in the fig because of the failure to 
secure the Smyrna type in the dried fruit and because so many varieties 
soured before drying. The outlook seems to rest upon successful 
caprification, although recently there has been increased success in 
profitable drying of other varieties. 



CHAPTER XXXI 
THE OLIVE AND ITS GROWTH IN CALIFORNIA 

The olive is another of the old mission fruits and though the 
tree and its products have been constantly under discussion since the 
American occupation, and though experimentation has been constant, 
it was not until 1885 that the tide of popular favor turned strongly 
toward the olive. For twelve years thereafter planting proceeded 
with enthusiasm amounting almost to infatuation, until the acreage 
in olives ten years ago reached such a figure that even the most 
enthusiastic ceased from further planting, because the future of the 
products of the olive was by no means clear. The competition of olive 
oil with cheaper salad oils worked greatly to the disadvantage of the 
higher-priced article, but as deception is now ruled out by recent pure- 
food legislation, cheaper oils can no longer be sold under the name of 
the olive, and legitimate producers will henceforth be protected. 

The difficulty of producing pickled ripe olives with good keeping 
qualities is also vastly greater than anticipated. In addition to these 
troubles the sterility of the trees in some situations, through frost or 
other agencies, discouraged many growers. It is probable that during 
the last decade the uprooting of trees far exceeded the planting and 
the olive acreage decreased considerably. At the same time there 
has been much progress attained in the building and equipment of 
oil mills and pickling esablishments, and in mastery of processes which 
yield acceptable products — all of which have favorably influenced the 
demand and price of the fresh fruit. The fact is, the olive was boomed 
in California along spectacular and speculative lines, and the industry 
must outlive the mistakes which were made. California will produce 
profitably, good olives and olive products in suitable places and 
through the efforts of masterful men and women who can rise to the 
requirements of production and of protection against imitation articles 
in the trade. 

The olive tree has survived a temperature of 14 degrees Fahren- 
heit in California, but the fruit is injured by a slight fall below the 
freezing point. This may render unprofitable the late varieties which 
carry their fruit-ripening into the winter months. 

The olive tree will thrive throughout the larger part of California, 
and it has been shown that it will grow in a soil too dry even for the 
grape-vine, and too rocky for any other fruit tree, but the growth of 
the tree and the bearing of fruit will be proportional to the amounts 
of plant food and moisture, and it is idle to expect fruit without irri- 
g'ation if the soil can not hold water enough for the tree. On foot-hill 
slopes the trees bear fruit earlier than in the rich valleys, although in 

398 




.,., '*^'^.,. 
:#^^'^^-'^ 







r.'isi^ 



1^ t 



bj) 



O 



4:;' - - ^-.v--^^ ^•-:/; 



bfl 



399 



400 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the latter the trees attain larger growth. Trees in the interior bear 
sooner than on the coast, and ripen their fruit earlier in the season. 

The olive tree is now thriving in California in a great variety of 
soils. It is productive, if frosts are not too severe, on moist valley 
lands, while on hillsides, even where excavations had to be made be- 
tween boulders, or into disintegrating rock, the tree has exhibited thrift 
and content with the situation. But the conclusion should not be drawn 
that the olive relishes poor soil. It may thrive with loose rocks or 
boulders, but it finds among them the elements it needs including an 
adequate supply of moisture. It is not to be inferred that the olive 
will succeed on sterile soil. 

Although the relations of soils to the qualities of oil have been 
investigated by the University of California Experiment Station and 
some interesting results published, we have not had experience enough 
in this State to demonstrate the influence of soils on the quality of 
the oil, but trade results have shown that good oil has been made from 
fruit grown on some of our best valley fruit soils, deep and naturally 
well drained, as well as from fruit grown upon drier uplands, and the 
production on deeper, richer lands is much larger. 



PROPAGATION OF THE OLIVE 

Olives are propagated from seed, and from cuttings of various 
kinds and sizes. The growth from seed is seldom practised in this 
State, because growth from cuttings is easy, and furnishes the variety 
desired without grafting. 

Growing Olives from Seed. — The olives should not be planted 
with the pulp, but cleaned of this either by letting them rot in a pile 
or by putting them into an alkaline solution to cut the oil. A simple 
way to hasten germination is to break the pits, taking care not to 
hurt the germ. An instrument similar to the nut cracker has been 
invented in France which is said to work well. When the kernels 
are deprived of their shell, they are kept moist in a compost, or mix- 
ture of cow-dung and sandy soil, and are sown thickly in the month 
of April. If it is thought to be too much work to take the kernels out 
of the pits, they must be soaked for twenty-four hours in a solution 
of one-half pound of concentrated lye to the gallon of water. Most 
of the seeds sprout the first year. Planting the naked kernels gives 
the quickest result. Without using this artificial means the seeds may 
remain dormant at least for two years. 

Large Cuttings. — There are two chief methods of propagating 
the olive from cuttings now practiced in California. One uses well- 
matured wood, and the other young wood which has just passed out 
of the herbaceous state. Practice with hard wood proceeds by taking 



t.ROWING OLIVES FROM CUTTINGS 



401 



Cuttings of sound wood about a foot long and one-half to one inch 
in diameter, and rooting them as already described for vine cuttings, 
in Chapter XXVI. These large cuttings sometimes remain dormant 
for a year or more, and recent propagation has been almost exclu- 
sively by the small-cutting method. 




Manner of Rooting small olive cuttings. 

Small Cuttings. — Propagating by small cuttings has increased 
rapidly during the last few years. It serves an excellent purpose in 
rapid multiplication of the new varieties which are being secured from 
abroad; it enables the grower to handle a large number of plants in 
a small space, and the plants from small cuttings have a symmetrical 
root system quite resembling that from a seed. These cuttings are 
made from very small shoots and both the tips and the lower cuts are 
used. In the engraving the figure on the lower left is a tip cutting; 



402 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



the next, a cutting lower down the shoot. These figures are about 
natural size, and show clearly how the cuttings are made. They are 
placed closely in boxes of sand about four inches deep, and after a 
few months are potted in small pots, or may be reset farther apart in 
boxes of soil or in the open ground. In January or February, the 
wood seems to be in the best condition in Berkeley, but such condi- 
tion may come at other times in other parts of the State. From such 




Propagating the Olive bv small cuttings. 



cuttings the trees will be of good size for planting in permanent place 
the next year. It is very important to take the small cuttings just 
when the wood is in the right condition, not too soft nor too hard. 
How to determine this point can not be described ; it must be learned 
by experience. 



Growing Trees from Truncheons. 

the south of Europe generally come in 
are long sticks of hard wood. They 
sawn and split into large cuttings (for 
shape, will grow if properly treated), 
small cuttings. If the truncheons are 
surface in moist, warm soil, shoots wi 
up into small cuttings when they reach 



— New varieties secured from 
the shape of truncheons, which 
may be planted entire, or be 
olive cuttings, even in firewood 
though better trees come from 
bedded a few inches below the 
11 appear which can be worked 
the proper condition. 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING OLIVES 

BUDDING THE OLIVE 



403 



Since the planting of a large area of Redding Picholines and the 
fruit found to be that of a wild or poor seedling olive and not a superior 
named variety, there has been a demand for working over the trees 
into better varieties. More recently many of the imported varieties 
have proved disappointing and a change to a variety profitable in the 




:^\r(.^- 



Olive: Twig-Bud as cut. 



region is imperative. The method of budding commonly employed 
with fruit trees does not usually yield a high percentage of success 
with the olive, and other ways have been adopted with much better 
results. 

Budding may be performed at any time of the year when the sap 
flows freely. If done late in the summer, the buds lie dormant through 
the winter. Best results are obtained when the buds are inserted 
early in the spring, as the operation can be performed to a much 
better advantage, and the buds will grow to some height before winter. 
When inserted in large orchard trees, or in limbs of large trees, the 
shoots from the inserted buds are allowed to grow until they have 
attained such a size as will justify in the removal of the entire top. 

Twig Budding. — Twig budding is very successful. The bud is 
cut deep into the wood, in order to give the bud as much bark as pos- 
sible. The leaves are partly cut off ; then, with the sharp point of the 
budding knife, the greater part of the wood inside of the bud is 
removed, as shown in the picture. If part of the wood is not removed, 
then the bud can not take, as the wood in it prevents the two barks 
(the inner bark of the bud and the inner bark of the stock) from 
uniting. When the wood has been partly removed from the bud, the 
bud is inserted into the stock, as budding is done in the regular. 



404 CALIFORNIA FRiJiTS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ordinary way, and tied tight. A small tip-twig may be used or a longer 
twig, cut back to the lowest bud and part of the foilage cut away, as 
shown in the engraving. At the end of three or four weeks the string 
is removed, and part of the top of the stock is cut back to force the 
bud to start. As the bud grows, the foliage of the stock is gradually 
removed, until the bud is able to take up the entire flow of sap ; it is 
then left to grow, and it may be protected by tying to a long stub of 




Olive: Twig-Bud inserted. 

the branch which may be left for that purpose above the point of 
insertion. When the bud has grown out strongly, what remains of 
the stock above the bud is cut smooth, close to the bud, to allow it to 
heal over. 

GRAFTING THE OLIVE 

Grafting is also used in working over both large and small olive 
trees. Good success can sometimes be had with the ordinary method 
of top grafting, as described in Chapter IX, using scions not larger 
than a lead pencil and inserting them in April. The olive can also be 
successfully grafted in the bark according to the method shown in 
Chapter IX. This graft is used for working in the top of the tree, but 
it may also be used at the surface of the ground, covering the cut 
surfaces with earth when the scions are in place. The shield grafting 
to which allusion is made has already been described in the preceding 
chapter, as it works well with the fig. Judge A. L. Rhodes, of San 
Jose, gives the following explicit account of his success with this graft : 

The stock, where cut off, may be from half to two and one-half inches in 
diameter ; the scion about one-quarter inch in diameter, the lower end to be 
formed by an oblique cut of about one and one-half inches. Split the bark of 
the top of the stock about one inch, raise the bark at the sides of the split 










Distress of the unpruned Olive tree on rnoist land in California. 



405 



406 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

slightly, insert the point of the scion between the bark and wood of the stock, 
at the split, and press it down the length of its oblique cut. Fasten it by bind- 
ing twine around both stock and scion, about ten times, very firmly. Apply 
grafting wax to top of stock and scion. 

If the bark of the stock be three or more years old, make two slits in it, 
about one and one-half inches in length, the width between them equaling the 
width of the oblique cut of the scion, raise the bark between the slits, cut ofif 
about half of it, by a sloping cut, then insert the scion and press it down, and 
bind with twine and apply grafting wax, as above directed. Cotton wrapping 
twine is of sufficient strength. 

Stocks the diameter of one inch or more should receive two or more scions. 
Scions gathered a short time before their insertion are the most successful. 
The twine around the stock and. scion should not be loosened until it indents 
the bark of the stock. Protect the graft from sun and wind. Wrap paper 
around stock and scion, the paper to extend a few inches above the scion — 
or place the paper, in the form of a bag, over scion and stock — and secure the 
paper with twine, tied around the stock in a slip-knot. 

Bark grafting may be performed at any time when the bark of the stock 
can be readily raised — whenever the bark will "slip." I grafted in that mode in 
each week of April and May and the first of June, and in September. Failures 
not 5 per cent. Twelve scions inserted about the middle of last September are 
all growing. Shield grafting is the most successful in the spring. I prefer 
the bark grafting, as the shield buds may not start for months, or even for 
a year. 

Side Graft on Small Wood. — A satisfactory graft can be made 
with an oblique cut, as shown in Chapter IX, which is superior to a 
split of the stock, because on a small stock the split is apt to continue 
farther than desirable when the scion is pushed in. With the slanting 
cut in the stock the scion can be firmly pushed into place without 
splitting. The union of inner barks of scion and stock must be made 
on one side when the stock is larger than the scion. This graft is tied 
in and waxed, or a waxed band may be used. In working small wood 
at the ground surface, the earth should be drawn up around the graft. 



PLANTING THE OLIVE 

There is nothing gained by planting out the olive too early in the 
spring. Both cuttings and rooted plants will do better if planted after 
the soil becomes well warmed, and after the heavy rains of the winter 
are well over. Of course the time when this condition comes is different 
from year to year, and varies, also, according to locality and situation. 
During the first summer the young plants will need occasional water- 
ing in some situations ; in others, merely mulching, or keeping the 
surface finely stirred, will suffice. 

Olive trees are planted at dift"erent distances, but the ruling inter- 
vals are twenty to twenty-five feet. This will allow the trees to bear 
a number of years before they crowd each other ; and then removing 
alternative trees gives ample distance for future growth. But it 
is clearly the part of wisdom to hold the olive to a low growth in order 
that the fruit may be cheaply gathered, and this may be done by 
proper pruning. 



PRUNING THE OLIVE 

PRUNING THE OLIVE 



407 



Pruning policies as insisted upon in Chapter XII, have direct 
bearing upon the commercial growth of the olive. The development 
of the tree according to principles there laid down is practicable and 
desirable. After proper low form is secured, satisfactory bearing will 
depend upon regular prunning to secure new bearing shoots and 




Bearing Olive tree before pruning. 

thinning to prevent the tree from becoming too dense and bushy. The 
olive bears upon wood which grew the preceding year, and upon no 
other. It is just as important, then, to secure a good supply of such 
shoots as it is to secure new bearing wood for the peach, and the ways 
to do it, by cutting back and thinning out, are much the same. Keep 
the tree from running out of reach of a step-ladder; prevent it from 
becoming a brush-heap, for both these acts are essential to the growth 
of good bearing wood, low down. At the same time it must be remem- 
bered that too severe cutting-back forces the growth of branches which 
form only wood buds and fruiting is postponed. The secret is to 
prune enough to induce plenty of new growth but not so much exces- 
sive, non-bearing, new growth results. This result is secured by 
regular and moderate pruning. 



408 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM 



Trees which have been allowed to form umbrella-like tops may be 
brought down to business again by cutting back the main limbs and 
making selection from the many new shoots which appear, but by 
proper, regular pruning a tree can be so trained that the removal of 
large limbs is seldom necessary. The times to prune the olive are 
just after the gathering of the fruit or just before new growth starts 
in the Spring. 




Bearing Olive tree after pruning. The amount of thinning can be estimated 
by the litter on the ground. 



Developing the Vase Form. — Explicit suggestions as to the 
development of a low, vase-form tree may be helpful to inexperienced 
growers. The following is from a foreign writer, whose illustrations 
are presented herewith : 

When the young tree has attained some height, it is the practice to cut off 
the top, so that the main stem shall be about four and a half feet in rich 
soil, or three feet in poor soil or in locations exposed to strong winds. Six 
or eight branches are left to form the head. The process of shaping the 
tree then proceeds, as shown in the engravings. Fig. 1 shows the young tree 
to be cut off at the point marked by the dotted line C. Six branches, three on 
each side, are left, and the lower twigs shortened. Each of the branches left 
develops, during the year, as the one shown in Fig. 2, which is then cut at C 
again, and the shoots B and D are shortened. This process starts out the upper 



DEVELOPING THE VASE FORM 



409 




Fig. 1. 



Fig. 4. 




Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3. 



410 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

shoot, and it appears the following year as A in Fig. 3, and it is again cut at C. 
This causes the two upper shoots to develop, and at the end of the year they 
appear as shown at BB in Fig. 4. Thus they stand at the fourth year's 
pruning, and each of them is cut at C, and A is shortened and D allowed to 
develop. By this time the tree has a spherical or vase form, and exposes much 
surface to the sun, which is desirable. 

The young branches that spring in the form of a cross on the more vigorous 
branches, bear only wood buds ; the others, which are weaker, bear fruit buds 
on their whole length and burst into blossom at the spring of the second year. 
The latter never blossom again in the same place, but the shoot extends itself 
and forces two lateral ones. These new shoots bear the following spring, and 
so on. It must therefore be always borne in mind that the olive bears only on 
the two-year-old wood. If the new shoots are formed every year, the olive 
will bear annually ; but in years of good crops, the sap employed to nourish 
the fruit only produces a number of very diminutive shoots, and the next crop 
is a short one. The pruning ought to favor the growth of young lateral shoots, 
either by shortening the terminal ones, suppressing the "gormand," or fruitless 
shoots, or by reducing in a certain proportion, each year, the fruit-bearing 
shoots, if we wish for a crop every year. The shortening of a branch is made 
immediately above an outside bud in an oblique direction, the interior one 
being suppressed. The suckers at the root of the tree should be continually 
cut off. 

Concerning the time for pruning, the best season is said to be when the 
winter frosts are well over and just before the sap starts in the spring. By 
early pruning the sap is made to act upon the buds unfavorably situated on the 
tree, brings them out, and also develops latent buds on the old wood. Thus 
one is enabled to prevent the tree from becoming covered with naked limbs. 



THE FRUIT AND ITS PRODUCTS 

The agricultural experiment station of the University of California 
was occupied for many years in the growth of olives and close exam- 
ination of olive products both by laboratory and practical test. The 
publications of the station discuss the operations of oil making and 
pickling and the suitability of varieties and for the purpose of this 
treatise outlines will be drawn from these sources. 

Gathering the Fruit. — Olives should be picked carefully and at 
the right time. For green pickles they should be picked very soon after 
they obtain full size, but before they have begun to color or soften. 
For ripe pickles and for oil making the fruit should be gathered when 
it contains the maximum amount of oil. This is soon after the olives 
are well colored, but before they have attained the deep black which 
signifies overripeness. If the olives are gathered too green the oil 
will be bitter ; if too ripe, it will be rancid. When they can be easily 
shaken from the tree they are ripe enough. If they commence to fall 
without vigorous shaking they are overripe. For whatever purposes 
the olives are to be used they should be carefully gathered by hand, 
and imperfect, immature, or bruised fruit rejected. Sound fruit is 
required for high-grade oil or for handsome pickles with good keeping 
quality. 



MANUFACTURE Of OLIVE OIL 411 

THE MANUFACTURE OF OLIVE OIL 

Olive oil is made in this State with apparatus of both Californian 
and European design, and, as a rule, there is made only one, and at 
most but two, pressings of the pomace, which is then used for fatten- 
ing swine. In the frequent working over of the pomace, and the 
close extraction of the oil, as practiced in Europe, we have done little 
as yet. 

Olive oil is made on a small scale by a number of parties who use 
home-made contrivances, or small, portable cider machinery for the 
crushing and pressing. During the last few years quite a number of 
mills have been erected at several points in California and they have 
made a market for the olives produced by growers who do not care 
to undertake manufacture. A detailed account of oil making, includ- 
ing descriptions of buildings and machinery, has been published by the 
University Experiment Station.* As this is available to those who 
desire such specific information, only an outline will be undertaken 
for the information of the general reader. 

Drying. — Extraction of oil from fresh olives gives the best oil, 
but it is somewhat troublesome, and it is customary to partially dry 
them. This partial drying is also useful to keep the fruit for some 
time or for shipment before crushing. Place the olives in layers not 
more than three inches deep, on trays that are stacked in a dry, well- 
aired room, protected from the wind and the direct rays of the sun. 
Turn daily until the fruit becomes well wrinkled. This requires about 
eight or ten days, according to the degree of temperature. The par- 
tially dried fruit may be stored in a dark room where the temperature 
does not rise above sixty degrees Fahrenheit, for three or four weeks 
without any serious deterioration of oil. To hasten the drying process, 
artificial driers, constructed on the same principle as the fruit or hop 
driers, are sometimes used. The olives are placed in a single layer 
upon trays, and the drier is kept at a temperature of about one hundred 
and twenty degrees Fahrenheit ; at over one hundred and thirty de- 
grees Fahrenheit the quality of the oil may be impaired. The drying 
takes about forty-eight hours — more or less — according to the nature 
of the fruit. 

Crushing. — The olives are usually crushed by heavy stone roll- 
ers revolving in a circular depression in a bed of masonry into which 
the fruit is placed. Crushers with corrugated bronze or bronzed metal 
rollers are now made that perform their work in a very satisfactory 
manner, breaking up the flesh and pits very thoroughly. As they are 
all of metal they absorb no oil and are easily cleaned. It is very 
essential that the flesh should be crushed thoroughly in order to break 
up the cells and permit the oil to be pressed out. 

* "California Olive Oil: its IManufacture," by G. W. Shaw, Bulletin 159, University 
Experiment Station, Berkeley, Cal. 



412 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Pressing. — When the revolving crusher has reduced the olives 
to a mass, the pomace is shoveled up from the bed of the mill and 
prepared for pressing. Instead of the fabric of woven esparto grass 
which is used abroad, coarse linen cloth is used. A certain amount 
of the pulp is put in each cloth, so that when the cloth is folded back 
it makes a cheese about three feet square and three inches thick. Ten 
or more of these cheeses are placed one above the other, with slats 
between, and the pressure applied gently at first. From the liquid 
which runs out first is made the very finest oil, known as "virgin oil." 
The pressure is then increased very gradually until the full power of 
the machine is reached. This presses out the second quality of oil, 
which is generally mixed with the first. After obtaining all the oil 
possible by the first pressure the "cheese" is taken out, thoroughly 
broken up in hot water, and a^ain pressed. This yields the third 
quality, which is very much inferior to the first and second. Some- 
times the "cheese" from the first pressing is thoroughly broken up with 
cold water and pressed again before being treated with hot water. In 
this way a little oil is obtained that differs little from the second 
quality, and may be mixed with it. After this a certain amount of 
oil still remains in the "cheese," but it can be extracted only by very 
powerful hydraulic presses, or by chemical means, and then is of very 
inferior quality, and suitable only for burning or for soap making. 

Settling and Clarifying. — The liquid from the press is dark col- 
ored, and it is conducted into a receptacle for settling. Much of the 
foreign matter quickly separates, the oil appearing on the top. The 
oil is removed to other receptacles in which it can stand from two to 
five months for perfect separation of undesirable sediment. These 
settling tanks may be of well-tinned metal, or of cement lined with 
glass or other impervious substance. The first settling is conveniently 
made by means of a funnel-shaped apparatus, which by its conical 
shape facilitates the rapid deposition of sediment. After standing for 
twenty- four hours in this apparatus the major part of the sediment is 
deposited and can be drawn off at the bottom. It is well, before 
running the oil into the settling tanks, to pass it through two or three 
inches of cotton wool. This is accomplished by means of a funnel 
with a perforated, horizontal cross partition, upon which the cotton 
is placed. It takes, generally, about one month for the oil to settle 
sufficiently in the first tank, after which it should be drawn off care- 
fully into the second, and so on until it is sufficiently bright. Three 
rackings are usually sufficient. 

Olives are sometimes ground and pressed in portable cider mills 
or ground in barley crushers for oil manufacture on a small scale. 
As the above description shows, oil making is a simple process, and 
may be carried on at home with rude devices. It is, however, a 
process requiring care and cleanliness, and intelligent personal attention. 



PICKLING AND CANNING OLIVES 413 

PICKLING THE OLIVE 

Olives are pickled in a green state, as is the case with the imported 
olives ; or in a ripe state, as largely undertaken in California. No 
one had any conception at first of the difficulties attending the produc- 
tion of pickled ripe olives which would have the keeping quality 
demanded in an article of commerce. It is now clearly seen that 
treating olives to extract the bitterness and to secure firmness, good 
flavor and keeping quality is one of the most difficult propositions in 
our horticultural manufacturing, and we can but admire the wisdom 
of the Spaniard in teaching Anglo-Saxons to enjoy green olives. To 
succeed with the ripe olive requires the utmost patience, experience, 
and intelligence, and one who undertakes it must not get weary of 
the most exhaustive study of difficulties that may arise and how to 
meet them. When the most careful picklers with the best appliances 
sometimes lose hundreds of dollars worth in spite of all they know 
about it, the difficulty of the matter may be appreciated. 

The following is an outline of the pickling of ripe olives as drawn 
from the University publications : 

Tlic Lye Process. — The vats or other receptacles used for pickling should 
be perfectly clean, odorless, and tasteless. Earthenware is the best material, 
but it is cheaper to use wooden receptacles thoroughly treated with boiling 
water and soda until they are sterilized and all taste of the wood removed. 
Metal receptacles must not be used. The vats should have a plug below to 
draw off the liquids and should be covered to exclude air. They should be 
shallow, so that the layer of olives should not be much over a foot in thickness. 

1. Place the olives in a solution, composed of two ounces of potash lye 
to each gallon of very pure water, for four hours. Repeat this once, or twice 
if necessary, to sufficiently remove the bitterness. If the olives are soft at first, 
or if they are of a kind that softens rapidly in the lye, use brine from the 
beginning, adding two ounces of lye and four ounces of salt to each gallon 
of water. As the lye acts much more slowly when used in combination with 
salt, it may be allowed to stay on the olives for a longer time without injury, 
eight to twelve hours or even more. 

2. Rinse the olives thoroughly and renlace the lye solution with fresh 
water. Change the water twice a day, until the lye has been removed from 
the olive, as judged by the taste. Use weak brine if the olives are too soft, 
changing once in two days. 

3. Replace the water with brine composed of four ounces of salt to a gallon 
of water and allow to stand two days. 

4. Put in brine of six ounces of salt to a gallon for seven days. 

5. Put in brine of ten ounces per gallon for two weeks. 

6. Put finally into a brine containing fourteen ounces of salt to the gallon of 
water. 

Much depends upon having pure water. Ditch or stream water should be 
boiled before using. 

Pure-Water Process. — The best pickled olives are made without the use 
of lye. but this process is only practicable with olives whose bitterness is easily 
extracted, and where the water is extremely pure and nlentiful, and even then 
it is very slow and tedious. It differs from the last process only in omitting 
the preliminary Ive treatment. The olives are placed from the beginning in 
pure water, which is changed twice a day until the bitterness is sufficiently 
extracted. This requires from forty to sixty days or more. The extraction 
is sometimes hastened by making two or three shallow, longitudinal slits in each 



414 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

olive, but this modification, besides requiring a large amount of expensive hand- 
ling, renders the fruit peculiarly susceptible to bacterial decay and softening. 
Altogether, the pure-water process can not be recommended for California, as it 
is too expensive and uncertain. 

Green Pickles. — Green pickled olives are made by essentially the same 
processes as are used for ripe olives. The extraction of the bitterness requires 
the same care. The olives are pickled soon after they have attained full size, 
and before they have shown any signs of coloring or softening. They contain 
at this time comparatively little oil, and are in every way much inferior to the 
ripe pickles in nutritive value. They are not a food but a relish. They are 
rather more easily made than the ripe pickles, as there is less danger of spoiling. 



CANNING THE RIPE OLIVE 

The use of heat and hermetical sealing is a recourse to avoid the 
difficulties of ripe pickling and canned olives, put upon the market in 
the same form as other canned fruits, have recently become popular. 
There are special canneries for their preparation at several points in 
the State and the general canneries are also handling olives in con- 
siderable quantities. The process is in the main like that of canning 
other fruits but special points have to be learned through experience. 
The University investigation of the effect of heat on the olive* shows 
that ripe pickled olives, heated to 175 degrees F., kept perfectly for 
thirty-two months. By heating them still higher in sealed cans or 
bottles they can be kept indefinitely with as great facility as any other 
food product. The heating does not injure the flavor and the texture, 
but, on the contrary, improves them. Olives, preserved by heating do 
not reqtiire such strong brine, and it is only necessary to add as much 
salt as the palate requires. The heating causes some of the coloring 
matter to diffuse into the brine, so that the olives are made a little 
lighter colored. With time, however, the colored matter diffuses out 
in the same way from unheated olives, so that at the end of a year the 
heated olives are actually darker in color than the unheated. 



VARIETIES OF THE OLIVE GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 

Many varieties of the olive have been brought to California from 
southern Europe during the last thirty years. Fifty-seven varieties 
have been analyzed and elaborately reported upon by the University 
experts, and of these about fifteen varieties rose to commercial account 
but several have been dropped, as shown by the statements of their 
operations which leading propagators have kindly furnished for this 
work. It is an interesting fact, however, that in spite of all the efforts 
put forth to secure a better olive than the old Mission variety, this old 
sort comprises three-fifths of all the planting which has been done 



*"OHve Pickling, etc.," by F. T. Bioletti. Circular 24, University Experiment Station, 
Berkeley, Cal. 



VARIETIES OF THE OLIVE 415 

during- the last few years — that is, the Mission has received fifty per 
cent more orders from planters than all other sorts combined. Several 
varieties at first popular have been abandoned because of an interior 
decay of the pulp. The following- is the list of the varieties now 
favored in Cahfornia on a commercial scale, arranged 'approximately 
in the order of their present popularity: 

Mission, Manzanillo, Oblonga, 

Ascnlano, Columhella, Uvaria. 

Sevillano, or Columella, PcnduHna, 

Nevadillo, Oblitza. Lucques, 

Rubra, Picholine d'Aix. 

These may be taken, then, as the varieties to which attention should 
be given. Of course the next few years' experience may produce 
marked changes in this list. 

The Afissioj! Olhc. — Bv this name is sij?nified the variety found growing 
at the old missions in California. Samples of the fruit and leaves sent by F. 
Pohndorff to Don Jose de Hidalgo Tohlada, a noted Spanish authority on the 
olive, led to the classing of our mission varieties with the Cornicabra-Corni- 
zuelo varieties of Spain, and its value was confirmed. It has long been known 
that the so-called Mission olive embraced several varieties, or sub-varieties at 
least. 

Common or Broad-T. caved Mission Olive. — The variety of olive most gen- 
erally known as the Mission ; ovate, oblique — sometimes very much so — the pit 
straight or silghtly curved, fruit very variable in size, growing singly or in 
clusters of two or three, or even five; time of ripening, late, in the coast region 
sometimes not before February, but generally in December; in warm localities, 
in November. 

Reddinsi Picholine. — Imported bv the late B. B. Redding. A perfect oval 
in shape, ripens early, several weeks earlier than the common Mission ; dark 
purole or black when ripe ; in nickling the puln loses the bitterness quickly, the 
fruit being very pleasant. This variety was propagated extensively in the 
State, and, until fruitinp-. was supoosed to be a large pickling varietv, but it 
proved to be a small seedling — a shoot comine from the root below the graft. 
It has produced oil of good quality. The smallness of the fruit is its irreme- 
diable defect. 

Picholine d'Ai.x-. — Fruit medium, elongated, tapering toward apex which 
is pointed ; reddish black when ripe. 

Picholine de St. Chnmas. — Oblong, reddish black; highlv esteemed in France 
for quality when pickled. 

Oblonga. — Imported by John Rock from France. An olive of a peculiar, 
club-like shape, being narrow at the stem end. broad at the noint, rounded and 
strongly oblique ; generally pointed at both ends. " The pulo loses its bitter- 
ness comparatively quickly in picking. This olive ripens quite early — at least 
two or three weeks earlier than the Broad-leaved Mission ; color, dark purple. 

Pendoidicr. — Large, oval, slightly curved at anex end: desirable for pickling 
early ripening in October in the interior valley and in November in coast 
valleys. 

Manzanillo No. 1. — Imported by F. Pohndorff from Spain, large regular 
rounded oval ; pit straight, stronglv pointed at the apex, nine-sixteenths of an 
inch long, five-sixteenths of an inch thick. Ripens early, several weeks earlier 
than the Broad-leaved Mission. The fruit grows on long stems. The puln 
parts readilv with its bitterness, and is exceedinglv rich when pickled. Excel- 
lent in the San Joaquin Valley both for oil and pickles. 



416 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 




Polymorpha. 



Nevadillo. 



Manzanillo No. 2. — Imported by F. Pohndorff from Spain. As the name 
("small apple") indicates, this variety is nearly round, with a pit of rounded 
oval shape, rather squarely cut off at the base. This variety ripens early — ■ 
several weeks earlier than the Broad-leaved Mission olive ; the fruit grows 
generally singly on long stems. 

Gordal. — A popular pickling olive in Spain, medium size, early. 



VARIETIES OF THE OLIVE 



417 




Sevillano. 



Mission. 



Rubra. — Imported by John Rock from France; ovate, slightly oblique, looks 
a good deal like a small Mission olive ; pit straight, pointed ; ripens three to 
four weeks earlier than the common Mission variety; is of a jet black when 
ripe. This tree begins to fruit quite young, and is a prolific bearer. Very hardy 
and prolific even in dry situations. 

Atroviolacea. — Medium size, black, chiefly valuable for oil. 

Uvaria. — Imported by John Rock from France. Oval, regular, and rounded 
on both ends; pit straight, heavy, late; later than the common Mission olive; 



418 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



color dark purple or black when ripe. The name, "grape-like," is well chosen, 
the fruit growing in clusters, as many as seven together, and in shape them- 
selves resembling the grape. Very prolific. 

Pendulina. — Imported by John Rock from France. An even, oval shape, 
rounded at both ends, quite variable in size, many fruits remaining small and 
undeveloped ; pit has small, sharp points often at both ends. Fruit grows in 
clusters of from two to five ; the pulp parts very readily with its bitterness. 
Larger and more ovate than Pendoulier. Tree a strong grower; fruit desirable 
both for oil and pickles. 




Mission Olive of California (Single Olive, natural size) 



Columbella. — Imported by John Rock from France. General form, broadly 
oval; very even in size, remarkable for the peculiar pale yellow color which all 
the fruit assumes before turning fully ripe and becoming dark purple ; pit 
small, straight and sharp pointed ; the pulp contains little bitterness ; flavor 
very rich ; ripens late, later than the Broad-leaved Mission. Tree hardy in dry 
places and a prolific bearer. Also called "Columella." 

Polymorpha. — Imported by John Rock from France. Very large, ovate, 
oblique, and pointed; light colored; pit square at the base, strongly pointed at 
the apex; flesh firm; ripens very early; fruit grows on strong stems in clusters 
of two or three. Tree not a strong grower, but productive. 

Lucques. — A variety specially adapted for pickling, though producing oil of 
good quality ; strong-growing tree and hardy ; sometimes shy bearer when 
young ; fruit shiny black, curved ; product called "Crescent Olive." 

Ncvadillo Blanco. — Imported by F. Pohndorff from Spain. Oval, slightly 
oblique, pointed, resembling somewhat a Mission, but is generally more elon- 
gated in proportion to its diameter than the latter; pit small, curved, and gen- 
erally pointed at both ends ; the fruit is borne in clusters of three to five ; 



VARIETIES OF THE OLIVE 



419 




The Picholine, reduced. 



ripening not much earlier than the Mission ; a fine oil olive, largely planted, but 
disappointing in some regions as a shy bearer and subject to frost injury. 

Oblitca. — Imported by the late G. N. Alilco from Dalmatia ; resembles the 
Pendulier, and may be identical; fine in the San Joaquin Valley; very large 
oval, but broad and rounded at both ends; grows in clusters; tree a good 
grower, hardy and productive; fruit excellent for pickles; ripen? in November 
in the interior — about the same as the Mission, 



420 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



Sevillano. — Recently largely planted as the variety exported from Spain 
as the "Queen olive." The largest of all olives; only useful in pickling; when 
ripe, bluish black; clingstone. Tree a strong grower, leaves deep green, green- 
ish white underneath. Described by Mr. Roeding as a regular bearer, but 
requires deep, rich, well-drained soil and will not stand much cold. 




Ascolano Olive. 




Manzanillo Olive. 




Sevillano, or Queen Olive. 



Ascolano.— "^\-n\^ olive of Ascoli." Verv large, "large as a French prune 
and much like one in shape" (Biolctti). Excellent for pickles, but not desirable 
in color of either green or ripe pickles. 

The foregoing enumeration and description of varieties is only 

partial and mainly restricted to varieties which have been more or 



VARIETIES OF THE OLIVE 421 

less largely planted. Many more have been experimentally fruited, 
but the tendency is to concentrate on very few which have made 
good in California and there is far less interest in varieties than a quar- 
ter of a century ago. The following are the leading facts as to size 
pit, and oil contents of the varieties which have been most largely 
planted and a few others : 

Averages of Olive varieties, determined at the University of California 

Number of 
VARIETY. Olives 

per pound. 

Mission 111.6 

Nevadillo Blanco 1 57.3 

Manzanillo 106.6 

Redding Picholine 398.2 

Uvaria 205.1 

Rubra 196.1 

Oblonga 1 79.4 

Colunibella 1 14.6 

Pendulina 157.1 

Polymorpha 71.9 

Macrocarpa 72.8 

Regalis 112.5 

Correoiolo 262.7 

Razzo 216.5 

Frantoio 298.9 

Cucco 192.9 

Leccino 245.5 

Grossaio _. . . 242.3 

Palazzuolo 272.1 

Infrantoio 375.0 

Lucques 192.9 

Picholine 77.0 

Ascolano 60.6 

Oblitza 105.2 

Empeltre 1 1 1.4 

Sevillano 36.2 



It should be remembered that olives vary in size according to 
growing conditions which environ the tree, just as other fruits do. 
For this reason the foregoing table may not do full justice to some 
varieties, but relatively it should be accurate enough for most com- 
parative uses. 



Pit, per cent. 


Oil, per cent, 

in 
whole fruit. 


17.2 


17.56 


17.3 


19.21 


14.7 


16.94 


23.0 


16.18 


25.5 


13.71 


17.9 


18.58 


18.7 


13.34 


16.6 


15.59 


13.7 


18.63 


17.1 


15.85 


17.5 


14.70 


16.3 


16.37 


2.8 


21.15 


24.3 


21.10 


25.9 


24.10 


21.1 


27.22 


21.7 


22.45 


25.7 


23.96 


22.2 


29.34 


30.0 


19.3 


23.0 


14.81 


17.5 


17.83 


12.0 


16.26 


14.6 


11.23 


15.7 


19.86 


14.5 


17.23 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE ORANGE 

The orange leads all the fruits of California. Near the close of 
Chapter VI will be found the numbers of trees and value of product 
shipped out of the State, upon the latter of which the supremacy of 
the orange rests. In view of this leadership it seems fitting to take 
a little wider range in the discussion of the significance of the orange 
in the development of California than has been indulged in the con- 
sideration of other fruits, and this is justified by the fact that the 
orange is the exponent of the horticultural resources of the State and 
its attributes in this direction are shared in varying degrees by the 
other fruits. The greatness of orange growing in California becomes. 
then, in various ways the token of our advancement in one of the 
highest of the agricultural arts, and in the mastery of long-distance 
commercial distribution of fresh fruits. These achievements are also 
a demonstration of the quality of our agricultural citizenship.* 



THE ORANGE INDUSTRY OF THE WORLD 

From the beginning the orange has reigned as king in the inter- 
national fruit trade of the world. The grape has always been and 
is still, greater in the value of its contribution to commerce and in 
the distance it safely traverses, but the grape rules not as fruit, but 
through its manufactured products, while the orange carries its natural 
beauty, fragrance and flavor unchanged around the world. From 
the earliest times the orange has not only been accepted in northern 
climes as a symbol of tropical and sub-tropical salubrity and sumptu- 
ousness, but by its own distinctive characteristics as a fruit it has 
won recognition as befitting the highest uses of mankind. By its 
nature too the orange ministers to its own commercial popularity. It 
endures long shipment ; it ripens slowly and through a season of 
several months which constitute the winter in northern latitudes when 
local fruits are scant or absent and the refreshment in the citric juices 
most welcome. The production of such a commercial commodity has 
from the earliest times constituted an important industry. 

It is a significant fact that though the orange thrives in the tropics 
it does not resent the slight touch of frost which characterizes semi- 
tropical situations. It is also significant that the fruit grown in semi- 
tropical countries, especially those which have a more or less distinctly 

*The Orange Industry "Encyclopedia Americana," Scientific American, New York, 1904.. 
"The Orange in Northern and Central California," California State Board of Trade, San 
Francisco, 1903, etc., by the author. 

422 



THE ORANGE IN COMMERCE 423 

marked two-season climate, differs in character from the strictly 
tropical orange and is firmer, heavier, more sprightly in flavor and with 
much better keeping and carrying qualities. The tropical orange has 
but small commercial importance ; the semi-tropical orange rules in 
the markets of the world. That the semi-tropical orange should have 
this distinctive character is most fortunate, for it ministers directly to 
the will for industry which is superior in semi-tropical countries. By 
the seven degrees of frost which the orange tree will endure without 
injury, it has gained the seventy degrees of north latitude through 
which its fruit freely seeks a market. Because, though the tropical 
orange would reach most distant markets in small quantities, it could 
never attain the commercial supremacy which the fruit now enjoys. 
The sweet orange is a native of eastern Asia and was carried thence 
to India and to Asia Minor. It possibly reached Portugal from India 
through the early Portuguese navigators. Thus the distribution of the 
fruit was westward. The history of modern commercial orange grow- 
ing consists of a series of progressive movements always trending 
westward and gaining in volume — the newer centers of production 
outstripping the older and ultimately largely displacing their product 
from the greatest markets of the upper divisions of the temperate zone. 
When the Moors introduced orange growing into Algeria and Spain 
they displaced the traffic from Asia Minor and gave the Mediterranean 
region for several hundred years undisputed possession of the markets 
of the north of Europe and possession also of the American demand 
when that arose. When the Spaniards and Portuguese carried the 
orange to the West Indies and to Florida they laid the foundation for 
an industry which American enterprise developed in Florida until that 
district not only contended with the Mediterranean region for Amer- 
ican markets, but was planning to invade northern Europe by direct 
shiploads when the demonstration came that the climate of northern 
Florida and of the Gulf coast westward was too treacherous for com- 
mercial ventures in orange growing — at least with the then popular 
varieties and methods of propagation. But as the Florida supply 
failed through the severe freezing of 1895, California came forward 
and, though Florida has re-established her citrus industry, California 
is now not only supplying four-fifths of the oranges consumed in the 
United States, but is selling the highest priced oranges in the London 
market against a world of competitors. 



RELATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO THE 
WORLD'S ORANGE ■ PRODUCT 

Competition with the product of California is working hardship 
in the Mediterranean region because this region can more than supply 
Europe, and needs American markets as an outlet. Italy has exported 



424 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

six million dollars worth of oranges and lemons in a year, but recently 
prices have declined and the interest is depressed. Every effort is 
being made to secure relief from local taxation and from duties 
imposed by north European countries. The Spanish product of oranges 
and lemons which ranks next to the Italian, has to meet heavy tariffs 
in all countries except the United Kingdom and the belief at Valencia 
is (U. S. Commercial Relations, Vol. 2, 1902, page 686) that the limit 
of British consumption of Valencia oranges at paying rates has been 
reached ; in fact, the British markets collapsed under the heavy ship- 
ments of 1901. When it is stated that the value of oranges imported 
into the United Kingdom in 1900 was $10,603,950, and such a free 
buyer has more than enough, it can be realized how important it is to 
the Mediterranean producers that the populous countries of central 
Europe should hold less strictly to agrarian interests which aim to 
hamper the entrance of food supplies even if they can not themselves 
produce them. Manifestly the American product can only enter such 
markets with a fancy product which will win an extra price, except 
as a little difference in the ripening season may afford an opportunity 

The commercial position of the orange in the United States is also 
such as to awaken apprehension. The present strength of the situation 
lies in the protective tariff and the bete noir of growers is the possibility 
of making gaps in it by reciprocity treaties. The product of the West 
Indies is a direct menace to the Florida product, which meets it in 
point of market season, and the Mexican product, which is undergoing 
expansion at the hands of American capitalists, is constantly feared 
by the California growers because the Mexican railway will give it 
quick entrance to the great central States and consequent advantage 
in distribution to the East and the Northwest. The orange from the 
West Indies and South Florida is different from the California orange 
in main ripening season and in character of the fruit, but the differences 
do not give full relief. With the late ripening varieties, the California 
grower extends his shipments into the autumn and thus laps upon 
the early fruit from Florida and Jamaica, while the parts of California 
which bring earliest maturity to the fruit are shipping before the 
southern fruit is cleared away. In fact, California can keep the markets 
supplied with oranges fresh from the trees and in prime condition the 
year round. 

As to the difference in oranges grown under humid and arid con- 
ditions, the moisture being supplied by rainfall in one case and by 
irrigation in the other, there has been shown in the arid region orange 
a superior density, thinness and texture of rind, higher sugar and 
higher acid percentages and a more sprightly or vinous flavor. The 
popular conception of the superior sweetness of the orange grown in 
humid countries is due not to a greater amount of sugar in the juice, 
but to less amount of acid. The following: are the determinations of 



WHY CALIFORNIA LEADS IN ORANGES 425 

sugar and acid of fully ripe Southern California and Florida navel 
oransfes : 



Total sugar, Citric acid, 

per cent. per cent. 

California Navel 9.99 1.45 

Florida Navel 7.46 0.95 



Of course, the quality of an orange is largely inherent in the 
variety, but all varieties are similarly changed by growth under humid 
or arid conditions of climate and soil, and this modification becomes 
a factor of much industrial importance. This fact is strikingly illus- 
trated by the standing of the navel orange in California. This variety 
has been grown for a century or more as the chief orange in Bahia, 
Brazil whence it was taken to California. In Brazil it demonstrated no 
shipping qualities, and according to Burke (U. S. Special Consular 
Reports, Vol. 1, page 411) would need to be picked before maturity 
if to be shipped, while as grown in California and Arizona it is picked 
at full maturity and is successfully shipped all over the United States 
and to Europe. 

Orange growing in Florida is recovering from serious reverses. 
The product of 1894 was about 6.000,000 boxes. Then came the dis- 
astrous freezing in December of 1894 and February, 1895, with a tem- 
perature of 14 degrees Fahrenheit at Jacksonville, and in the latter 
year only 75,000 boxes were shipped. In 1907 the product was about 
3,000,000 boxes, produced in the central and southern parts of the 
State. In Louisiana the freezing of 1895 nearly annihilated the citrus 
fruit interest and there is thus far no disposition to resume production 
on a commercial scale. In the southwestern corner of Arizona there 
is a small orange industry which is successfully shipping navel oranges 
to distant markets. Conditions favor early ripening and an advantage 
is secured by sale in advance of the main California product. From 
California the shipments of oranges beyond State lines in 1911 were 
about 46,585 carloads or 18,000,000 boxes. The orange industry of 
the United States is now largely supplying the home demand for the 
fruit. Imports of oranges reached their highest value in 1883 at 
$3,010,662, and have since then declined. The value in 1907 was $354,- 
495 — but little more than one-tenth of the imports of twenty-five years 
ago. 

The orange industry of the United States is unique in the high 
social and financial standing of those who have engaged in it, and in 
the striking features of its development. Both in Florida and in Cali- 
fornia large scale production was first undertaken by northern men 
who had gained wealth and had lost health in the pursuit of it. They 
brought capital and commercial ability to the ventures which they 



426 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

exploited. The professional classes of the north also participated largely 
in the work, bringing scholarship, insight and experience in organiza- 
tion. There were a few also who possessed horticultural experience, 
but the other classes largely predominated. The result has been the 
development of an industry characteristically American in spirit and 
new in methods. It has borrowed very little from the practices of old 
world orange growers. Free from tradition and prejudice it proceeded 
rapidly upon the results of original investigation and experiment, estab- 
lishing a system of culture and of commercial handling of the product 
which are without precedent in the older orange regions of the world. 



THE ORANGE A STATE AFFAIR IN CALIFORNIA 

Thus far the discussion has been based upon the achievements of 
Southern California and the effort made to assign them due credit for 
greatness and uniqueness. The relation of Southern California to other 
parts of the State in orange growing is not less important and signifi- 
cant. 

Citrus fruit trees have been successfully grown in suitable situa- 
tions in northern California for nearly half a century. There is a 
famous orange tree at Bidwells Bar, in Butte county, which was started 
from an Acapulco seed in Sacramento in 1855, and planted out in 
Butte county in 1859, which has been generally made to stand sponsor 
for the demonstration of citrus conditions north of the Tehachapi 
mountains, but it is not entitled to all the distinction which has been 
heaped upon it. In the fifties there were other orange and lemon trees 
growing in widely separated northern localities — in the valleys of the 
San Francisco Bay region, also near the rivers and among the low 
foothills on both sides of the Sacramento Valley. It was, even in early 
days, the proper thing to include citrus trees among ornamental door- 
yard plantings and one reason why the demonstration at Bidwells Bar 
was so widely accepted as complete, when it was brought forward as 
a guaranty for commercial planting in the later eighties, was because 
similar instances of successful old trees existed in many and widely 
separated places. 

This question naturally suggests itself: Why, if such early demon- 
stration was had, was large commercial planting of the orange 
delayed at the north until after southern California became famous for 
its orange product? Several good reasons can be adduced. In the first 
place a disposition toward wider planting did at one time arise and 
quickly subsided. In the later seventies when the general rush to fruit 
growing, which has resulted in the present vast extension of the inter- 
est, began, citrus fruits were not overlooked. There was a sharp de- 
mand for orange trees. Southern California nurseries had a large 



THE ORANGE IX CENTR.\L CALIFORNIA 427 

overstock of trees budded on China lemon roots which southern CaH- 
fornia planters had learned to despise as forcing excessive growth of 
tree and large, coarse fruit. The natural tendency of such a root, 
exaggerated by excessive irrigation in the nursery, gave a stem as thick 
as a broom stick and higher than a man in a few months' time, and 
these soft monstrosities were sent north by carloads, by astute tree 
speculators, and sold to unwary planters, who thought they were getting 
a great deal for their money. Such trees were planted in all sorts of 
situations and their broad leaves made a fine display as soon as planted. 
There were fond anticipations of evergreen orchards everywhere from 
the swamps to the hillsides. Then came the cold winter of 1878-9. 
The temperature in places reasonably situated was not very low — not 
lower than is frequently encountered in southern California and not 
low enough to injure well placed old trees, though it did destroy some 
ill-placed ones and helped to define suitable situations for citrus culture 
in the north as such temperatures have also defined them at the south. 
But the degree reached was fatal to those soft trees on a lemon founda- 
tion almo.st everywhere, and the disappointment of the new planters 
who based calculations upon them, discouraged them from further 
efforts toward citrus culture for some time. It was not a logical con- 
clusion because a careful inquiry made after the frosts in 1879 elicited 
careful written statements from sixtv-nine orange growers, living in 
thirty counties and fully justified this conclusion, which was at that 
time ■ published : "this mass of testimony shows that orange growing 
is no longer an experiment in the north, and that, notwithstanding the 
severe frosts of such winters as this, orange and lemon trees can be 
profitably cultivated in nearly every county in the State, and by select- 
ing favorable localities, no district, except it be situated in the high 
Sierra, need be without these most beautiful and useful fruits." 

But there was another and more logical reason why the well suited 
lands in the central part of the State were not at that time given to 
citrus fruit culture. Citrus fruits require irrigation everywhere ; decid- 
uous fruits, including the grape, do not require irrigation except in 
places of shallow soil or light rainfall. Without waiting for irrigation 
facilities then, hundreds of thousands of acres of deep valley loams 
were immediately available for the ])lanting of deciduous fruits. The 
growers understood these fruits, while the orange to an English-speak- 
ing people was an unsolved problem. The long list of deciduous fruits 
had varieties to suit the tastes and ambitions of all planters and the 
opportunity for selling many different fruits and their different products 
seemed illimitable. "The world for a market" seemed a reasonable 
proposition, for deciduous fruits and their products had been shipped 
to eastern markets since the first overland railway was opened in 1868, 
and very large prices were attained, just often enough to be alluring. 
No citrus fruits had been shipped out of the State on a commercial 
scale, and no one knew that they could be, profitably. The central and 



428 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



northern districts threw their full strength into the deciduous fruit 
interest and the result has justified the effort, for, at the present time, 
the annual shipments of deciduous orchard fruits fresh dried and 
canned ; the grape, both fresh, as raisins and as wine and brandy, has 
reached a total value of about forty millions of dollars — almost all of 
it from the regions of California north of the Tehachapi mountains. 
The engrossing requirements of this grandly successful undertaking 
gave northern growers, packers and capitalists no leisure to think seri- 
ously of citrus fruit planting — that was left for a decade and a half to 
the special attention of the southern California people, and they de- 
veloped it splendidly for the settlement and upbuilding of their portion 
of the State — reaching a total value of product sold beyond State lines, 






Cover crop in Orange Orchard of Mr. W. M. Bristol, East Highlands 



of about eighteen millions of dollars. The chief reason, then, why, 
although citrus adaptations were demonstrated very early in the upper 
part of the State, the commercial planting was largely postponed to 
the present decade, was that the people were too busy developing a 
greater fruit industry to which their conditions were superlatively 
suited. 

During the last few years new interest has arisen in citrus fruit 
growing in northern California and all the scattered experiences of the 



PRECOCITY OF THE ORANGE TREE 



429 



last half century are becoming of inestimable value in guiding this 
planting aright. There are several important reasons why the north 
has now turned to the oran'je. 




Early Bearing of Budded Orange Tree in California 



First : Deciduous fruit ])rocluction has reached large volumes, mar- 
gins have become reduced to those whicli assert themselves in any 
well established and extensive industry, and some of the early glamour 
has gone out of it. It will henceforth proceed soberly, and consequently 
safely, to grand aggregates wliich no one can foresee, but it is readily 
demonstrable that with the present rush of population to the more 
wintry districts of the Pacific slope, the opening of xA^siatic connections 
and the victories being attained each vear in the distant East and in 
Europe, our production of deciduous fruits and their products will go 



430 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Steadily forward. Increased interest in citrus fruit planting in northern 
California is in no sense a menace to the deciduous fruit industry. It 
is merely a new graft upon a very vigorous industrial stock. 

Second: Owing to natural conditions which will be briefly ex- 
plained presently, orange growing can be pursued at the north without 
competition with the main crop in southern California. The northern 
California crop will be consumed before the bulk of the southern crop 
moves from the trees. 

Third: All California oranges have characteristics and qualities 
which are recognized as of distinctive excellence, and therefore have 
a commercial advantage which, under a wise system of protection 
against free entry of cheap tropical fruit, enables them to compensate 
the high grade American labor which is employed in their growth, 
packing and marketing, and leave a reasonable return to require the 
grower's effort and investment. This being so, the production, so long 
as protection is continued, justifies extension of the effort to produce 
an American orange for Americans. 

Fourth: Semi-tropical fruits are nature's demonstration of the 
existence in a place of a climate which promotes health, comfort and a 
maximum of physical and intellectual attainment in mankind. Prob- 
ably all that is urged against tropical climates as enervating and de- 
pressing of human standards is true, but not a word of it applies to 
an arid semi-tropical climate, in which the blessing of dry air and 
freedom from the debilitating effect of temperature extremes rejuvenate 
the old and weary and bring the young to stature and stalwartness 
which all newcomers notice in the rising generation of Californians. 
Of the existence of such conditions a well-grown orange of the Cali- 
fornia type is unimpeachable evidence. It has brought a hundred thou- 
sand people and a hundred millions of capital to southern California 
which would not have come otherwise. In the conscious strength with 
which northern California has recently awakened to make systematic 
effort for settlement and development, the orange is accepted as an 
exponent of the possession of those natural characters of sky and air 
and soil, constituting, the most desirable environments of human life — 
the highest desirability in the location of a home. 

Fifth : It is but a corollary of the foregoing that the successful and 
profitable production of citrus fruits is par excellence the motive force 
in promoting colony efforts and in drawing into horticulture the class 
of people which constitutes the most desirable element in the upbuild- 
ing of a great State — people who know what is noble and desirable in 
human life and desire it for their children ; people who know how to se- 
cure what their aspirations and tastes approve ; people who by intellect- 
ual force and training and by successful professional and industrial ex- 
perience are prepared for attainment in the higher horticultural arts 
and in the new commercial efforts which make those arts profitable. 



CALIFORNIIA CITRUS CONDITIONS 431 

The splendid development of southern California communities upon a 
horticultural basis points the way to achievements in other suitable 
parts of the State, and the citrus fruits become then the token, not alone 
of superior natural endowments, but of the type of manhood which can 
use them to the best advantage. None know this better than the south- 
ern California people themselves, and it is a demonstration of the desir- 
ability both of the natural resources of northern California in citrus 
lines and of citrus fruit culture itself, that in all the newer citrus re- 
gions at the north, there are to be found among the leading planters and 
promoters, southern Californians who have sold their early plantings at 
the south at high prices to newer comers and have started anew in the 
northern districts, where they find cheaper land, more abundant water 
supply and fruit which is marketed at an earlier date. 



DISTRIBUTION OF CITRUS CONDITIONS IN 
CALIFORNIA 

The claim has been made above that citrus culture conditions exist 
in suitable situations in central and northern California from Shasta 
to San Diego county, and historical evidence has been cited to prove 
it. It is so surprising that practically the same climate should be found 
through a distance of between seven and eight degrees of lati- 
tude that many, even of those who have lived in California, do not ap- 
preciate the fact, nor know the explanation of it. An effort is made 
toward such explanation in Chapter I of this work. Even at the risk 
of repetition the subject will be reviewed with special reference to the 
occurrence of conditions affecting the growth of citrus fruits. 

First: California is not only blessed with benign ocean influences, 
but northern California is additionally protected from low winter tem- 
peratures by the mountain barrier of the Sierra Nevada, extending 
southward from the multiplied masses of protecting elevations in the 
Shasta region, while Southern California enjoys the protection of the 
Sierra Madre and other uplifts on the north and east of her citrus re- 
gion. Northern blizzards are, therefore, held back from entrance to 
California and are forced to confine themselves to southerly and easterly 
directions over the interior parts of the Pacific slope, while the great 
blizzards of the northwest traverse the Mississippi Valley and, if they 
have sufficient impetus, extend to the gulf and carry destruction to 
semi-tropical growths even in northern Florida. The ocean then bring- 
ing warmth and the high mountains defending against cold, combine 
their influences to give nearly the whole length of California semi- 
tropical winter temperatures. 

Second: Although this striking similarity does exist, in citrus dis- 
tricts north and south, there is another even more startling proposi- 
tion involved and that is the influence exerted by the presence of the 



432 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

coast range as the western boundary of the great interior valley of th^ 
State, and intervening between that great valley and the ocean. The 
several ridges of the coast range with their enclosed small valleys serve 
as a colossal wind-break against northwest winds, which might other- 
wise, now and again, bring a temperature too low for citrus fruits, 
where now thew are safe from injury. The chief effect of these moun- 
tains is to protect the northern interior valleys and foothills from the 
raw winds of early springtime and to allow the sun as he crosses each 
day higher in his course, to expend the increasing heat directly in pro- 
moting vernal verdure. The result is a protected interior region in 
central and northern California, of quick growth in all lines — early 
pasturage, early grain harvest and early fruit ripening. The valleys 
of southern California, which have thus far been largely developed, 
have no high range between them and the ocean. They are open on the 
west because the coast range of mountains takes a sharp turn eastward 
in the southern part of the State and afterward curves southward, pass- 
ing along the eastern side of the chief productive region. The influence 
of this opening of the valleys of southern California is not so unfavor- 
able as such opening would be at the north, because ocean winds are 
gentler and warmer there, and there is winter service rendered by this 
eastward trend of the southern California mountains, as has been said. 
but the fact remains that the absence of high barriers against ocean in- 
fluences retards the springtime and causes a slow development of sum- 
mer conditions and late ripening of fruits, while the presence of high 
barriers at the north so hastens springtime and summer heat, that early 
summer fruits in California are shipped from the north to the south — 
a thing which does not occur anywhere else in the northern hemisphere. 
It is due to this same early start which the local topography gives to the 
orange, followed by the high summer heat which is essential to the de- 
velopment of a good orange, that the orange reaches an acceptable 
commercial condition at an earlier date in suitable interior places at the 
north and is at present being almost wholly shipped to eastern markets 
before free movement begins at the south. This early marketing also 
relieves the growers of much anxiety and costly frost fighting, because 
the fruit, which is always more susceptible to injury than the tree, is 
out of the way before the frost period, which usually begins about 
Christmas, is reached. 

There is in southern California, east of the mountains, a district 
which has thus far been but scantily developed where protection from 
ocean influences tends to early ripening of fruits. The same is true of 
some parts of Arizona adjacent, and small quantities of early fruits 
move westward and northward from that region. That region is not 
in view in this discussion, for too little has been accomplished in citrus 
lines to warrant conclusions which the present confident planting in 
that part of the State will soon supply. 



THE ORANGE OUTLOOK 433 

Third : Still another feature of local topography must be mentioned 
as influencing citrus conditions north and south and explaining why 
winter temperature has fallen no lower at the north than at the south. 
At the north the snow fields of the high mountains are farther from the 
valleys and mesas, where citrus fruits are grown than they are at the 
south. The branches and low foothills of the Sacramento Valley, for 
instance, are forty to fifty miles from the high range to the east of them 
and there intervene countless ridges of high foothills and small valleys, 
and before the citrus plantations can be reached by the descending air 
currents they are considerably warmed by rustling over so much land 
which has been warmed by the ample winter sunshine. From many of 
the southern citrus regions one looks almost directly upward and out- 
ward upon the grand snow-clad mountains, whose crests are but fif- 
teen to twenty-five miles away. It is a splendid scenic effect — ripening- 
oranges and dazzling snow fields in the same glance of the eye, but it is 
sometimes not so grand as a pomological proposition. 

Fourth : Another protective influence for citrus fruit trees during 
the frosty period of December and January, is the low canopy of land 
fog which covers the interior valley of central and northern California 
much of the time at that season of the year and checks the radiation 
of ground heat which is apt to take place rapidly under a clear sky. 
Though the nights are thus often protected from frosts, the day tem- 
perature is held low, which is also of account, because the citrus trees 
are held dormant, which is desirable, as there is no fruit to ripen. On 
the other hand, the higher day temperature in southern California is 
valuable in that district because the later fruit is still maturing. The 
winter aspects of the trees in northern and southern California are 
therefore quite different ; in the north, the dark green of dormancy ; in 
the south, the gold of the fruit and the oft-protruding light green of the 
winter wood growth. In both regions all growth conditions seem 
good ; each after its own kind, and the two, in a sense, complementary. 

In 1910 the outlook is for rapid extension of the orange product, 
particularly in the suitable lands on the eastern rims of the San Joaquin 
and Sacramento valleys. The orange product of the northern district 
is about one-eighth of the southern and will increase rapidly, for of 
about two million trees now growing, only have half attained bearing 
age and planting is still being freely undertaken. Three-quarters of all 
the trees north of the Tehachapi mountains are in the citrus districts 
of eastern Tulare County. 

THE GENERAL OUTLOOK FOR THE ORANGE 

At the present time orange growing has a very promising outlook. 
The prospect for much larger consumption, at the east and abroad, is 
very encouraging. The orange is passing from its old status as a lux- 
ury to its proper recognition as a staple winter fruit for dwellers in cold 



434 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

climates. For such use the agreeable acid and sprightly flavor of the 
California fruit especially commends it. The consumption of the fruit 
per capita, away from California, is still small and will be greatly in- 
creased when people know better its desirability and the reasonable 
prices at which it can be secured. This wider distribution is to be con- 
fidently expected and the rapid increase in population through the great 
west and north is each year giving California growers nearer markets 
of growing consumptive capacity. It will be of great advantage to the 
whole country, as well as to California, to have production steadily in- 
creased. 

The development of the orange industry in California to utilize the 
splendid natural adaptations which have been discussed, to make good 
the large investments which have been made, and to afford a field for 
the profitable employment of the high quality of American citizenship 
which has entered the list of producers, several things are essential. 
First, the advancement of horticultural art and science. Second, the 
maintenance of the protective tariff, as has already been suggested. 
Third, the extension of co-operative handling and distribution of the 
product as now embodied in the successful operation of the California 
Fruit Growers' Exchange and its auxiliaries in all the producing dis- 
tricts. Fourth, the pursuit of systematic and intelligent inquiry and 
experiments into the durability of the fruit in transit as affected by cul- 
tural and commercial practices, and the reformation of policies and 
methods in accordance with the results of such investigation as con- 
ducted by Mr. G. Harold Powell of the United States Department of 
Agriculture and his associates. Every grower of oranges should famil- 
iarize himself with this work.* 



SOILS AND SITUATIONS FOR THE ORANGE 

While citrus conditions do exist through large areas of California, 
there is still danger of loss and disappointment through unwary indi- 
vidual investments and unwise locations of citrus colony enterprises. 
The tracts of land for orange planting even in a favorable citrus climate 
are limited in area and every citrus climate has numerous places where 
local meteorological conditions will prove destructive to the profit of 
the enterprise, if not to the life of the trees. The orange is a hardy 
tree, judged within its temperature limits, but there is no money in a 
tree which is subjected to any kind of hardship. For this reason the se- 
lection of a good depth of strong, free loam should be made, for such is 
essential not only to good growth of the young tree, but to its support 
through the long productive life which the orange enjoys. Depth of 



* "The Decay of Oranges While in Transit from California," by G. Harold Powell, Poniolo- 
gist in charge of Fruit Transportation and Storage. Bulletin 123, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C, 1908. 



SITUATIONS FOR THE ORANGE 435 

good soil is not only a storehouse of plant food, which will postpone the 
use of purchased fertilizers, but it is a reservoir of water so that irri- 
gation can be applied in larger amounts at longer intervals. While it 
is quite possible to grow an orange tree and to secure good fruit on 
shallower soils, if conditions are kept just right by frequent use of 
water and fertilizers in just the right amounts, such conditions impose 
heavy burdens in their constant requirements of extra care and expen- 
diture, and these are handicaps of no small economic importance. The 
tree can not live upon climate as a man may, because a tree can not 
speculate ; it must have a good foundation in the earth as well as a good 
outlook in the sky. 

Growing orange trees on defective soils has brought disappointment 
and loss in all parts of California. Ample supplies of irrigation water 
available have encouraged over-irrigation where trees have been planted 
above hardpan, and drainage is absent. Dying-back and yellow leaf 
have appeared in some groves and have been accounted for by digging 
to find the roots bedded in mud and slush. All plantings over clay sub- 
soils should be guarded against this danger. Digging deep holes and 
filling them with good soil is setting a trap for the future failure of the 
tree unless the deep hole is properly drained by the nature of the sub- 
soil or by artificial provision. On the other hand, planting over a grav- 
elly sub-soil is often disappointing, because the water passes through 
the sub-soil as through a sieve and the tree shows distress although 
generous amounts are applied to the surface. Wide observation through 
the State teaches that such warnings are needed by the unwary. There 
has also been injury to trees from planting over sub-soils carrying ex- 
cess of lime.* 

Local temperature conditions even in sections generally suited to 
orange culture should be carefully ascertained. Frosty places must be 
avoided. A few feet diflPerence in elevation may change profit to loss, 
but one must not therefore draw the hasty conclusion that all small ele- 
vations are favorable. The experience of the last few years shows that 
nothing is, on the whole, more dangerous than the warm bottom land in 
a small elevated valley which seems naturally protected on all sides. 
There are many such places which are far more treacherous than the 
uplands of the broad valleys, which may be considerably lower. The 
benches around the sides of the small valley may be safe and the bottom 
of the same valley dangerous because there is no adequate outflow for 
cold air to the large valley below. Look out for small valleys which 
have divides of crumpled hills where they debauch into the main val- 
ley. Cold air can be dammed and held back ; consequently the low land 
of a small valley may be worse than lower land in the main valley, be- 
cause in the latter there are air currents which prevent accumulation 



*"Marly Subsoils and Qilorosis of Citrus Trees," by E. W. Hilgard. Circular 27, Uni- 
versity Experiment Station, Berkeley. 



436 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

of cold air in particular places. These air movements make some plant- 
ings on the upper plains of the main valley safe, though the whole re- 
gion may seem to the eye rather flat and low, but, of course, broad sinks 
of the main valley may also be dangerous. Too great elevations are to 
be guarded against. Where one approaches the reach-down of moun- 
tain temperatures and loses the warming influences of the valley mesas, 
the danger line is at hand. 

An ample water supply is essential. Small waterings which may 
bring satisfactory growth to a young tree are no measure of the needs 
of a bearing tree. The orange is using water all the year, as discussed 
in the chapter on Irrigation. Its crop requires nearly a year to reach 
maturity. Both in leaf growth and fruit growth it nearly doubles the 
activity of the deciduous tree and all the time it is pumping water with 
its roots and pouring forth water into the air through its exposed sur- 
faces. No investment in orange planting can be profitable without as- 
surance of adequate water supply. 



PROPAGATION OF THE ORANGE 

The orange is grown from cuttings, layers, and seeds. Growth from 
the seed is the method almost exclusively followed, and by far the best, 
but the others will be mentioned briefly. 

Growth from Cuttings. — The method of propagation is de- 
scribed in the chapter on Propagation. 

Growth from Layers. — The orange roots readily by layering, the 
drooping branches being partly cut through, buried in the soil with 
the terminal shoot above the ground. Layers must be kept moist. Lay- 
ering may be employed to obtain a few plants easily, but, otherwise, 
it cuts no figure in propagation. Layers and cuttings, of course, repro- 
duce the original variety without recourse to budding. 

Growth from Seed. — The orange is grown upon seedlings of 
the common or sweet orange; the bitter orange or orange of Seville, 
generally called "Florida sour stock," and of the Pomelo or Grape 
Fruit. Good plump seed should be selected in growing orange seedlings 
either for their own fruitage or to use as stocks for budding. 

When seedlings for fruiting are grown, select seed from a choice 
variety in a situation where other citrus species are not grown ; but the 
orange can not be trusted to come true from seed, and, more than this, 
the seedling class for fruiting purposes has been practically abandoned 
as unprofitable to plant, though fruit from old seedling trees is occasion- 
ally sold at a profit. 

In securing seed the fruit is allowed to rot and when thoroughly 
decayed, it is pulped by mashing in a barrel, and the mass is washed, 
a little at a time, on a coarse sieve, the pulp passing through, and the 



THE ORANGE NURSERY 



437 



seed being caught on the wires, and pieces of skin thrown out. The 
pkimp seed will sink if thrown into water, and the imperfect can be 
skimmed from the top. The seed should never be allowed to dry, and 
unless it is to be sown at once, should be stored by mixing with moist 
sand, from which it can be afterwards removed by sifting; or it can 
be kept for a time in water, changing the water from time to time to 
prevent souring. The best time for sowing orange seed is after the 
ground has become warm in the spring. 

Orange seedlings are grown either in boxes or in the open ground 
In either case a rich sandy loam which will not bake should be secured 
or artificially made by mixing sand with rich garden loam. Boxes of 
about two square feet area and six inches deep are convenient to handle. 
The bottom should have holes, or sufficient crevices for good drainage. 
Fill the boxes about four inches with the prepared soil, place the seeds 
about an inch and a half apart each way, sift over them about an inch of 
the soil, or a little less of the soil, and a layer of clear sand if it is at 
hand. It is essential that the soil should be kept moist, and light sprinkl- 
ing daily, or every other day, with water that has been warmed by 
standing in the sun. is desirable. Seed can be sown in boxes in the house 
at any time if plenty of light and heat are given. If the boxes are to be 
out-of-doors, it is best to sow in the spring, and to rip up a cover of 
cheap cotton cloth, suspended about a foot above the surface, to pre- 




a b c 

Root systems of seedlings . 
Florida sour. b Pomelo, c Sweet seedling. 



438 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



vent effect of frost at night, and of burning by sun heat by day. The 
seedlings usually appear in about six weeks, and with good care in 
weeding and keeping sufficiently, but not excessively, moist, they will 
make a growth of about a foot the first season. Some growers collect 
the boxes in a sheltered place, and build over them a lath house, tacking 
on old sacks or other cloth, to shield them from the sun and frost. The 
lath house keeps animals from running over the boxes, etc. 

Growing seedlings in an open bed involves about the same opera- 
tions. To guard against intrusion, it is advisable to make board sides 
to the bed about a foot high, and to make lath frames which will reach 
across, resting on the edge boards. A cloth sun-and-frost shade is also 
desirable, to be laid over the lath frames when it seems needed. Beds 
should be made narrow enough so that one can easily reach half way 
across from each of the long sides for weeding, etc. In open seed beds 
it is usual to sow the seed broadcast. 

The Orange Nursery. — Planting out in nursery is usually done 
after the ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, and the seed- 
lings are then about a year old. The preparation of nursery ground 
and the planting out of the seedlings can be done as described in Chap- 
ter VIII. Orange seedlings should, however, be given greater distance 
apart than is usual for deciduous trees, because the orange remains 




Bearing Pomelo budded to orange, leaving side branch to keep up circulation 



longer in the nursery, and because it is often desirable, when taking up, 
to sack the ball of earth embracing the roots. If the roots are not to be 
sacked, about nine inches will do between the plants ; if to be sacked, 
the distance should be twice as great. The rows should not be too close 
in the orange nursery. If horse cultivation is to be used, at least four 
feet between the rows should be allowed, and even greater distance is 



THE ORANGE NURSERY 



439 



desirable. In taking the seedlings from the seed beds, a few should be 
lifted at a time, and their roots kept shaded and moist until the ground 
closes on them in the nursery row. To get an even stand in the nursery- 
small and weak plants should be placed by themselves, or set in boxes 
to take another year before going into nursery. 

Young trees in nursery are very liable to frost injury, and it is wise 
to protect them by some sort of a cover during the winter. A frame- 
work covered with cypress brush is often used, the whole being cleared 
away in the spring, to allow of summer cultivation. Cultivation of 
trees in nursery is about the same as with deciduous fruit trees. The 
horse should be used, and the surface kept perfectly pulverized. The 
cultivator should follow irrigation as soon as the soil will admit of it. 
Frequency of irrigation of nursery depends, of course, upon local con- 
ditions. Some give two or three irrigations, by running the water in a 
little trench alongside the rows, at intervals of two weeks, for a time 
after planting, and then irrigate once a month during the summer. It is 
important that irrigation should not be continued too late into the fall, 
because the young tree should harden its wood before cold weather. Nor 
is it desirable that the growth be too rapid. A good growth of sound 
wood is better than extra size. 

Length of Time in Nursery. — Seedlings are usually budded after 
being one or two years in the nursery, or at two to three years from the 
planting of the seed. At a convenient time in the winter the lower 
shoots and thorns arc removed from the seedlings, so as to leave a clear 
stem of about six inches for the convenience of the budder. 




Orange top on lemon trees eighteen months after budding. 



440 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

BUDDING THE ORANGE 

The orange root is the best foundation for an orange tree, and the 
seedhng sweet orange has been the main rehance. The seedhng of the 
Florida sour orange has been used to some extent to escape gum dis- 
ease. It has not been entirely free, though conceded to be less subject 
to the trouble. Oranges have also been worked upon pomelo seedlings, 
which force a strong growth, root deeply and are satisfactory. Of 
course, many lemon, and recently many pomelo trees, have been worked 
over to the orange, but in these cases the orange root was below the 
other wood. All lemon roots are not suitable for the orange. The Jap- 
anese practice of dwarfing with the citrus trifoliata has never prevailed 
in t lis State. Recently the trifoliata stock has been used considerably 
i^ secure earlier ripening of fruit, and the tree claimed to be sufficiently 
free growing, but experience favors the other roots for standard trees. 

Budding is almost exclusively adopted for working in desirable va- 
rieties. The best time to bud is about the time the new growth starts 
on the seedling in the spring, though some practice budding in midsum- 
mer and fall. Good, well-matured buds only should be used ; those from 
both base and tip of the shoots are frequently defective. The method of 
budding described in Chapter IX is that usually employed in budding 
citrus trees, and the rules for loosening the ligature, etc., are similar. 
Midsummer buds are apt to have soft growth at the coming of cold 
weather ; fall buds remain dormant until spring ; spring buds start to 
gTow almost immediately, and have the benefit of the whole summer 
season for growth and maturing of wood. 

After the bud has started out well, the top of the stock should be 
removed at a short distance above the bud, and suckers on the old 
stock should be continually looked for and removed. The tender 
shoot of the bud may be protected by tying to the stub, and when the 
growth of the bud has become strong enough to support itself, the old 
stock is smoothly sawn away above the bud and the wound covered 
with liquid grafting wax or paint. 

The care of budded trees in nursery is similar to that of the seed- 
lings of the previous year. If too great a tendency to branch low 
down is observed, the tips of the lower shoots should be pinched, but 
it is not desirable to imder-prune much ; the retention of the lower 
branches thickens the stem. Sometimes a very rank growth on the 
bud will need a stake to strengthen it or to protect it from blowing out. 
The intrusion of gophers and other vermin should be resolutely and 
persistently guarded against. 

Working over Old Trees. — Old orange trees can be transformed 
into improved varieties either by budding or by grafting, as described 
at the close of Chapter IX, though re-working by grafting has been 
almost entirely superceded by budding. The common way to bud over 
an old tree is to cut back part of the branches and force out new shoots, 



BUDDING THE ORANGE 441 

the best of which are selected for budding and the others removed. 
Sometimes only a part of the tree is removed at first, and when the 
new buds have grown out on that, the other part is similarly treated. 
Others remove the whole top except a single low branch to maintain 
sap circulation until after the new buds start. 

Recently the practice of budding into old bark has been widely 
adopted as the quickest way to secure a new tree. As with working 
into old bark in other trees, it is necessary to take an older bud and 
a larger, thicker shield of bark behind it, than when budding into 
younger stock. Some remove the wood from the back of the shield, 
but generally it is not done. The following is an outline of practice 
approved by the Redlands Horticultural Club : 

Keep the buds carefully in a damn cloth. Slide the bud upward, above the 
cross section. Bind around the bark, steering clear of the buds proper, a 
wrapping of waxed cloth, already prepared, three-fourths of an inch wide. 
When enough of this has been wrapped about the tree trunk or branch to 
keep the bark and the bud in place, rub the end of the muslin strip with the 
handle of the budding knife, down upon the muslin already wound about the 
bark. This will hold the waxed wrapping firmly in place. From ten days 
to two weeks after the buds have been inserted, cut off the entire top of the 
tree, above the buds, and cover the stump of trunk or large branch with 
grafting wax — applied hot — with a brush. 

As soon as the wax is put on — and it must be put on as soon as 
the top is sawed off — whitewash the tree, over the waxed cloth, also over 
the bud, over every part of the tree that is left, except the stump ends, to 
which the hot wax has been applied. Immediately the buds will begin to 
grow. From ten days to two weeks after whitewashing take off the muslin 
wrap, and. if the work has been done carefuh" in accordance with the above 
directions. 90 per cent of the buds will develop — perhaps more. A prime 
necessity for this work is a razor-sharp buddintr knife. 

There is a variation in practice in cutting back the stock above the 
bud. Instead of cutting back at once, heroically, as just described, some 
girdle the branch or cut back part of the top at a distance above the bud, 
cutting down to the bud after it shows good strong growth, tying the 
young growth to the stub at first to protect it. Others insert the 
bud in the fall, cutting back to start the bud after the fruit on the old 
top is gathered. It is very important to watch for suckers below the 
bud and remove, or pinch them back, to make a bunch of leaves. The 
growth from the bud itself often needs pinching to induce low branch- 
ing. Twig-budding can also be used on the orange by the method al- 
ready described for the olive. 

Budding in old trees is best done in the spring, when the sap flow 
is strong, but, as stated, can be done in the fall and the bud allowed to 
lie dormant until spring. 



PLANTING ORANGES IN ORCHARD 

As already stated, orange trees are planted out at greater age than 
deciduous fruit trees. Budded trees are given one or two years' growth 
in nursery and one or two years' growth on the bud, which, added to 



442 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the year in seed bed, makes them three to four years of age from the 
sowing of the seed. Seedhngs, to be planted out as such, are allowed 
two years' growth in the nursery, which makes them three years old 
from the seed. For this length of time and the unusual care involved 
in their growth, taking up from nursery and the preparation for car- 
riage, orange trees of planting age are of much greater cost than de- 
ciduous fruit trees. 

Since the growing of seedlings for their fruit has practically ceased, 
the distance between the trees in orchard planting has ranged from 
twenty to twenty-four feet. All the varieties now propagated are quick 
to bear fruit, and if properly shaped will find ample space in these dis- 
tances — the greater distance on the richer soil as a rule. 

Preparation of land for orange planting by deep and thorough cul- 
tivation and laying ofif to secure straight rows by the square, quincunx, 
and hexagonal methods have been quite fully discussed in Chapter X, 
and Chapter XI has suggestions for planting, many of which are ap- 
plicable to the setting of orange trees. There are, however, special 
methods employed in lifting the orange trees from the nursery rows 
and in placing them in permanent position, which will be outlined. 

The orange, in common with other evergreen trees, is exceedingly 
sensitive to exposure of its roots, and for this reason the handling of 
the young trees is very different from that of ordinary orchard trees. 
Three ways are employed for securing this constant moisture of the 
roots, as follows : 

Packing in Wet Straw. — As fast as the trees are lifted from the 
nursery ground by digging carefully so as to loosen and secure all the 
roots possible, they are packed in damp and partially rotten straw, 
proper receptacles being at hand so that the roots are not exposed by 
carrying them any distance. In taking up, all roots bruised by the 
spade are cleanly cut with a sharp knife. The tap-root is cut away at 
a depth of a foot or so from the surface. This use of wet straw, if 
faithfully carried out, will answer well in taking trees short distances 
for planting, but the use of a puddle on the roots before packing in 
damp straw gives additional assurance of success. 

Puddling the Roots. — This method is also used for deciduous 
fruit trees, as mentioned in Chapter XI. It consists in having a thin 
puddling of loamy soil with preponderance of sand rather than of clay, 
into which the roots are dipped as soon as the tree is lifted from the 
nursery. This mixture, which should be about as thick as cream, may 
be made in a hole in the ground, or, better still, in a box or cask large 
enough to allow complete plunging of the roots. As soon as dipped, 
and with all the mud which will adhere, the roots are packed in wet 
straw. If the trees are to remain thus packed for any length of time 
the greatest care must be observed to keep the straw damp, and water 
must be applied gently to avoid washing the puddle from the roots. 



PLANTING ORANGE TREES 443 

Sacking the Roots with a Ball of Earth. — This is a very satis- 
factory way to move orange trees, and if it is well done, the tree does 
not wilt, and may be moved long distances and handled more freely 
than the puddled roots. To ball and sack trees, dig a trench along one 
side of the row about six inches away from the trees, and about a foot 
and a half deep. By careful digging under each tree from this trench 
the tap-root is reached, and severed by a cut with a sharp spade. The 
side roots are also cut by thrusting the spade down on the three sides 
not opened by the trench.' The top earth is carefully removed nearly 
down to the highest lateral roots, and after being sure that the roots are 
severed all around, the tree is lifted out with the ball of earth which 
encloses the remaining roots. This ball is rounded off carefully and 
then placed on a half of a grain sack or other piece of burlap, the cor- 
ners of which are drawn up and tied around the stem of the tree with 
baling rope. It is also an additional surety of safety to allow the baling 
rope to run under and around the ball to aid in holding it together. 
The balled trees must be carefully handled so as not to break the ball, 
which would result in tearing to pieces, as well as exposing, the roots. 

The manner of handling the trees depends somewhat upon the 
character of the nursery soil. Successful balling of course requires a 
certain amount of adhesiveness in the soil. 

One can not be too careful in the handhng of orange trees. Though 
they will stand harsh treatment when in permanent place, they must be 
most carefully transplanted. Lifting from the nursery when the soil 
is too dry, exposure of the roots, or careless planting, will consign the 
tree to a slow, sickly growth, and often kill it outright. 

Cutting Back at Transplanting. — The rule of reducing the 
top to compensate for the loss of roots, is vital in moving orange trees, 
but sometimes cutting back is carried too far and subsequent growth 
is checked rather than promoted. Some growers cut back the young 
trees a little while before lifting them from the nursery. Some take off 
all leaves after planting out, and claim that growth starts sooner and 
more strongly, but it is doubtful whether defoliation is advisable, ex- 
cept in case of wilting, when it is necessary. 

Digging Holes and Setting Trees. — The same considera- 
tions which require extra care in lifting trees for nursery, rule in put- 
ting them in permanent place. All authorities on the subject specify 
exceptional care in preparing the tree holes as a profitable investment 
on the part of the planter. Large and deep holes are commended, pro- 
vided the planting is done in a deep, free soil. Deep holes would be 
more injurious than beneficial in a tight sub-soil, unless drainage were 
furnished, but there are good orange trees now bearing in such places 
— good enough at least to be an ornament and acceptable fruit pro- 
ducers for family use. 



444 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



On large-scale planting in deeply prepared soils, holes large enough 
to allow good spreading of the roots are sufficient. Handling the soil 
at planting has been fully described in Chapter XI, and the importance 
of bringing the soil into firm contact with the roots has been urged 
The use of water in planting citrus fruit trees is especially desirable. 
Trans-planting should be done just as the growth is starting in the late 
spring or early summer, and this is the opening of the dry season and 
rains can not be expected. Therefore, when the roots are arranged and 
the top soil lightly tramped around them, water is run in the hole and 
the earth compacted around the roots by water settling. After the water 
has settled away, the hole is filled and the surface left loose to prevent 
evaporation. 

These instructions apply to the planting out of trees which are 
taken up with long roots and puddled. In planting out balled trees, 
the sack is not removed, but after the tree is embedded in the earth, 
the tying rope is cut. The sack soon decays in the soil. 

Orange trees can be successfully transplanted at different times 
of the year, but the best time, as just stated, is after the ground gets 
well warmed by the spring sunshine. The date at which this condition 





Good form secured by training. 



nu — 

FlfiT. 1. Oranq:e tree at planting 
in orchird. Three feet hio^h 



PRUNING THE ORANGE 



445 



arrives depends upon locality. Experience seems to indicate that the 
young orange tree is in best condition to transplant just as the new 
growth is starting out, and preferably when it has not grown out more 
than two inches. 

Great care must be taken that transplanted orange trees do not be- 
come dry after planting. The methods of irrigation are described in 
Chapter XV. Good cultivation should also attend the orange from its 
first planting onward. This subject is fully discussed in Chapter XIII. 



PRUNING THE ORANGE 

All the considerations urged in Chapter XII in favor of low-headed 
and strongly branched trees apply to the orange, though the habit of the 
tree in growth and bearing requires different pruning policies. The 
orange tree is more disposed naturally to assume a good form than 
most other trees, and for this reason most experienced growers declare 
their belief in pruning as little as possible. This is unquestionably good 




Fig. 2. Branch form of orange before 
removing lower branches. 

policy providing attention enough is given to securing a shapely and 
convenient tree, and to overcome the tendency in the young tree to run 
out very long shoots which result in unsymmetrical shoulders with hol- 
lows beneath them and obviate a weeping habit, which interferes with 



446 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



irrigation and cultivation and prevents the development of good bear- 
ing space above. It is so easy to bring the orange tree into good form by 
a little hard thinking about what shape is desirable and a little timely 
cutting and pinching to secure it. 

It has long been held that the orange tree should assume a com- 
pact wall of foliage. The interior of the tree being considered merely 




Fig. 3. Good form of five-vear-old oran<^e tree. 



the framework to support this and pump sap into it. Recently the im- 
portance of removing dead wood from the center of the tree is being 
urged, even though the cost is considerable, and a rational thinning of 




Branch form of orange six months 
after planting. 



PRUNING THE ORANGE 



447 



branches to admit light and air in sufficient amount to secure good fruit 
nearer the center of the tree is also being advocated and practiced to 
some extent. All these progressive tendencies carry the orange nearer 
to the application of the principles of pruning which are discussed in 
detail in Chapter XII, including the rational recourse to more severe 
pruning or cutting back to induce a growth of new and stronger wood 
for subsequent bearing. In other cases cutting back of varieties in- 
clined to make a rank wood growth, like the Valencia Late, to encour- 
age a better supply of fruiting wood, is being advocated. It seems 
clear that there are important ends to be gained by more pruning of 
the orange tree, and by earnest thinking and close observation along 
this line. 




Fig. 5. Tendency of clioped branches to rise. 

It has been held that it was necessary to prune the young tree to 
quite a high head at first to allow for the natural droop of the branches 
and the result is seen in many young trees with slim stems and um- 
brella-like tops. It is better to develop a stout stem by allowing for 
a time a low growth upon it and then raise it later by removal of the 
lower growth which has done good service and outlived its usefulness. 
By wise under-pruning it is possible not only to secure a shapely and 
convenient tree but also to so train the lower growth that it shall pre- 
sent good, low bearing wood without groveling in the dust. 

Unquestionably the drooping habit of budded orange trees is largely 
due to their treatment. A grower who does not believe in pruning 



448 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



allows the branches to extend too far horizontally, and the weight of 
the foliage and the early fruiting brings the branches to the ground. To 
relieve the lower branches of the young tree of a part of this weight 
will enable them to assume a better direction, and this slight relief at 




^r^^^l^r 



Fio-. 6. 



Branch form of five-vear-old 
tree built down. 



first will prevent much branch-sawing in later years. The young tree 
as it comes from the nursery usually starts upon an upright course. If 
stopped at about three feet it can be brought along to develop strong 
and well-arranged branches, much as has been described for deciduous 
fruit trees in Chapter XII. The adjacent engraving. Fig. 1, shows a 
young tree in planting condition, stopped at three feet and needing 
only a slight cutting back of the laterals to be ready to begin its orchard 
life. If young trees are transplanted short distances and at the right 




Fig. 7. Foliage form of five-year-old tree. 



SHAPING THE ORANGE TREE 449 

time they do not need so much cutting back as is commonly given them. 
If allowed to grow from the start shown in Fig. 1, pruning only to pre- 
vent long branches from running out at random, and removing 
branches which may start strongly from near the base, the tree will 
assume the branch-form shown in Fig. 2 and at from two to three 
years after planting in the orchard. At about this age the removal of 
lower branches begins, as they have served their purpose in shading the 
trunk and bearing the first fruit. These branches are removed one 
by one until, when the tree is five years in the orchard, it has lost all 
branches below the two-foot line except the one branch marked "a" of 
which the upright-growing part will be retained. The higher branches 
assume the more horizontal habit, too great out-shooting is repressed 
and at about five years orchard-age the tree attains a height of about 
twelve feet and if of the general form shown in Fig. 3. The next few 
months will bring its foliage to the ground to remain there or to be un- 
der-trimmed, as the notion of the grower may be. 



BUILDING DOWN AND NOT SAGGING DOWN 

It is perfectly feasible and rational to secure a good form of low 
tree without removal of large branches and without relying upon the 
sag of the branches from a high head. It requires rather more watch- 
fulness and attention and study of the subject than some growers 
desire to give, but the results when attained are very satisfactory. 
The method is that of J. H. Reed, of Riverside, and has been followed 
by him for a number of years with his own orchard and others of 
which he has had charge. It will be found readily intelligible with 
the help of the sketches. Mr. Reed would begin with a young nursery 
tree like that already shown in Fig. 1 . He does not believe in mu( h 
cutting back before planting providing a fair amount of roots are left 
in the ball at transplanting. If the tree has been properly planted and 
cared for, it will soon begin to put out new growth, usually first along 
the stem, the strongest growth being lowest down. As many of these 
young branches along the stem as are not desired for permanent 
branches, are rubbed oflf, the earlier the better, at least before woody 
fiber is deposited in them. Mr. Reed Yubs off promptly all below a 
point about two feet from the ground, if there is a prospect of getting 
sufficient good branches above that point. If not he saves them down 
to eight or even twelve inches lower if need be. 

Mr. Reed's idea is to build the head along a considerable length of 
the trunk and not have the branches bunched at the top, and this is 
the same idea that is urged in the development of the trunk of the 
deciduous fruit tree in Chapter XII. He finds it impossible to do this 
in the nursery because if it is attempted to form a head 18 or 24 inches 
along the upper portion of the stem instead of one bvinched near the 



450 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

top of it, the lower branches will appropriate most of the sap and the 
upper portion will not be well developed ; while if this upper story is 
well established in the nursery the lower portion can be built on without 
detriment to the upper, if nutriment sufficient for both is furnished 
Fig. 4 will show approximately the branch-form of the young- tree at 
about six months from planting and the shoots with which the building- 
down is begun. The first step is to check the drooping habit. Upon 
this point Mr. Reed says : 

The common notion that the branch of the Navel orange naturally tends 
down is a mistake which grows out of the fact that in its rapid growth the 
new part of the stems and large leaves are so loaded with sap that they pull 
the stems from their natural upright position, and, unless relieved, hold them 
there till the deposit of woody fiber fixes the branches in the drooping or 
unnatural position. If the tips of these rapidly growing branches, with their 
heavy leaves be clipped at the right time, the branches will spring back to 
the erect position, where they will remain to send out new branchlets. It is 
wonderful how the orange tree can be molded like a thing of wax by pinch- 
ing and clipping here and there, if done at the right time. 

Fig. 5 shows the result of this clipping of heavy shoots to allow 
them to assume a more upright growth and the encouragement of new 
shoots below the two-foot mark. Fig. 6 gives the branch form of a 
five-year-old tree, with its lower story of bearing wood well developed, 
and Fig. 7 is the foliage-form of the same tree, about fifteen feet high, 
with its leaves and fruit reaching to the ground. As to how low the 
branches should be allowed, Mr. Reed says that until recently he has 
thought it best to keep the lower branches clipped back so that the fruit 
would not touch the ground, but he is persuaded that it is better to let 
them come to the ground even if considerable fruit rests on it. He finds 
that many of the best orchardists do this, and claim that there are really 
less culls among the fruit on the ground than on the less-protected 
branches above. 

Later Pruning of the Orange. — After the form of the orange 
is well established the aim should be to preserve a compact, symmetrical 
and convenient form. It is desirable that weak wood should be re- 
moved ; dead interior branches, which have given up the struggle for 
the light, should also be removed. It is an appalling undertaking to 
get into the inside of an old omnge tree and saw off and drag out the 
dead wood but, as already stated, the conviction is growing that this 
should be done. Of the growing shoots there is a reasonable amount 
of thinning to be done. The clipping back of ambitious shoors mul- 
tiplies laterals. There should be a good cover of leaves, but the crowd- 
ing of leaves on leaves excludes light and air and weakens the tree by 
lessening the vigor of leaf action. Dead twigs which appear among 
good bearing shoots should always be removed. The gourmand shoots 
or suckers should be repressed, unless, by clipping, one can be turned 
into a branch where a branch is needed. 



THE WASHINGTON NAVEL 451 

DISEASES OF THE ORANGE 

The orange is thus far subject to few diseases in CaHfornia. The 
most grievous is the so called gum disease, which is analogous to the 
gumming of other trees and will be discussed in the chapter treating 
of tree diseases. Cracking of the fruit is a trouble which has never been 
fully explained. 

There are several serious insect enemies of the orange, which will be 
discussed in the chapter on that subject. The "black smut," which 
makes leaves and fruit unsightly in some parts of the State, is a fungoid 
growth upon the exudations of insects, and can be prevented by remov- 
ing its cause. 

VARIETIES OF THE ORANGE 

Though many varieties of the orange have been introduced in Cali- 
fornia, but few are largely grown. During the last fifteen years there 
has been a pervading disposition to concentrate upon the Washington 
Navel, and, except to get other varieties cither earlier or later to extend 
the season, there seems little reason to go beyond the Navel for com- 
mercial purposes. Not only have recent plantings been predominantly 
of tnis variety, but old trees of other kinds have been very largely 
budded over to it, and this work is still going on at a rapid rate. 

As already claimed in the opening pages of this chapter, the Wash- 
ington Navel is the greatest commercial orange in the world. As it 
goes from CaHfornia into the world's commerce it is a combined 
product of grower's skill and climatic conditions operating upon its own 
natural qualities and characters. Neither of these factors alone could 
achieve its present position. The navel mark is neither peculiar to it 
nor determinative of it, for there are other navels which are inferior 
here and our navel is inferior elsewhere ; and even in Bahia, whence it 
came, it has no such quality and standing, because in coming to Cali- 
fornia it passed from humid, tropical to arid, semi-tropical environ- 
ment. As already suggested, the tropical orange is not in the same 
class with the semi-tropical from the point of view of commerce. Trade 
in tropical oranges is local or limited; trade in semi-tropical oranges 
is world-reaching. The orange produced in an arid, semi-tropical cli- 
mate is dense and compact, firm and better in keeping and carrying 
characters. It is also of more sprightly flavor and richer composition 
Those who are disposed to exalt the humid air orange for superior 
sweetness forget that the California orange, as compared, for instance, 
with the Florida product, has not less sugar but adds to it more acid ; 
being, in fact, not less sweet but more sour. As both sugar and acid are 
nutritive substances, the superiority of the California fruit from a 
dietary point of view is clear. Such an orange, enclosed in a thin skin 



452 CALIFORXIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

of silky texture and beautiful finish, comes very close to an ideal upon 
which to found an industry. 

Although California has apparently no need for changes of type in 
oranges and has worked diligently and long for the attainment of the 
types which are at present supreme in her industry, there is still oppor- 
tunity for improvement within the types. Such improvement is prob- 
ably to be attained not by hybridizing, but by selection. The Washing- 
ton Navel, like other members of the citrus family, is keenly disposed 
to variation and some of its variations have been named and propa- 
gated as the lists below will show. The pursuit of such and other 
improvements is now being systematically -taken up at the Citrus 
Experiment Station at Riverside which is a branch of the University 
of California Experiment Station at Berkeley. 

Of the few varieties which are now largely grown the following is 
the ripening season : 

Navel and Seedlings, November to May; Malta Blood March to 
June ; Mediterranean Sweets, April to July ; St. Michaels, ]\Iay to 
July ; Valencia Late, June to September. 

Washington Navel (Bahia. Riverside Navel.) — Fruit large, solid, and heavy; 
skin smooth and of a very fine texture; very juicy; high flavored, with melt- 
ing pulp ; is practically seedless, only in exceptional cases are seed found ; tree 
is a good and prohfic bearer, medium thorny, a rapid grower, although it does 
not attain a very large size ; bears when very young, commencing to bear as 
early as one year old from the bud ; ripens early. This variety was imported 
from Bahia, Brazil, in 1870. by Mr. W. Sanders, of the Department of Agricul- 
ture at Washington, and in 1874 two trees were received from Washington 
by Mrs. Tibbetts. of Riverside, Cal. Trees were also received about the same 
time bv Alexander Craw, but the Riverside trees were first in fruit, and the 
excellence of the variety being at once recognized, it was propagated rapidly 
and took the name Riverside Navel from the place where its characteristics 
were first made known. As it came to be grown largely in other districts as 
well, a broader name, Washington Navel, recognizing its receipt from the 
national capital, was adopted. 

There is much tendency to variation in the Washington Navel, and sub- 
varieties are to be found involving departures in the direction of thinness and 
silkiness of rind, etc., as well as interior characters. The first to become 
prominent of these is Thomson's Improved Navel with A. C. Thomson, of 
Duarte. Los Angeles County, claimed to have produced by a process of nrop- 
agation, but which is believed to be a natural variation. It is a very refined 
fruit ; generally held to be too fine for ordinarv handling. 

Two new variations, developed on the prooagating grounds of the San 
Dimas Citrus nurseries of R. M. Teague are as follows : 

Golden Buckeye , Navel. — Young wood, slender but strong ; tree of striking 
appearance ; fruit marked with bands of deeper color, skin ver^^ smooth ; pulp 
aromatic with suggestion of fcineapple flavor. 

Golden N'ugget Navel. — Young wood willowy and slender, tree umbra- 
geous ; fruit smooth, solid, thin-skinned, rather oblone and good size, rich 
golden color ; pulp free from rag, and delicious. 

Australian Navel. — A coarser type of the Navel introduced from Australia 
in 1874 by Lewis Wolfskill, of Los Angeles, and largely propagated formerly. 
It has now been practically abandoned for the Washington Navel. It seems 
to be of more account at some points in the San Joaquin Valley than elsewhere. 



PACKING CITRUS FRUITS 453 

Valencia Late (Hart's Tardiff). — Medium size, oblong, pale yellow; flesh 
rich, dee'^ yellow, sprightly and crisp ; tree a strong grower, slightly thorny. 
Ripens late, and valuable for late shipping. 

Malta Blood. — Fruit small to medium, oval; flesh fine texture and flavor, 
streaked and mottled with red ; few seeds. The tree is thornless and regular 
and heavy bearer. 

Ruby. — Medium size, roundish ; when ripe often reddened by deep red pulo 
within; juicy and sprightly, often rather acid; tree vigorous, thornless and a 
good bearer. 

Mediterranean Sweet. — Fruit medium to large, pulp and skin of fine texture, 
very solid and few seeds; ripens late, often not until May or June. The tree 
is thornless and of dwarf habit of growth and is inclined to overbear. It was 
at one time the most widely-distributed variety in the State, next to the Wash- 
ington Navel, but has recently been largely budded over. It was introduced 
and named by T. A. Garey, of Los Angeles. 

Paper Rind St. Michael. — Fruit small, round, very firm and very juicy; 
pale, thin skin ; very elegant in appearance. It ripens late and keeps well on 
the trees as late as August; tree is of dwarf habit, medium thorny, a good 
bearer, and very desirable. 

Kumquat (Citrus Japonica). — Fruit very small, oblong or olive shaped, rind 
thick, yellow, smooth ; sweet-scented ; very little pulp ; containing many seeds ; 
tree dwarf (a bush), a prolific bearer. Chiefly used for conserves. 

Dancy's Tangerine, or Kid Glove. — Leaves broad, fruit flat, small to medium, 
reddish; skin separating readily from the pulp; flesh juicy and aromatic. 

Satsuma (Unshiu Oonshiu). — A considerable acreage of this variety, planted 
ten years ago on dwarfing stock, has availed very little commercially. At 
present there is disposition to grow the variety on sweet orange stock because 
of its earliness, but this practice has been recently condemned by Florida 
experience, where it is held that it must be grown on the trifolicata root. Tree 
quite hardy, fruit irregular in size, but usually medium size, flattened; rind 
easily detached; fine texture, sweet and nearly seedless. 

Mandarin, Willow-Leaved.— 'y.iedium sized, flattened, deep yellow; flesh dark 
orange, skin loose; tree compact, ornamental. 

King. — Of the Mandarin class ; large, rough skinned, skin and segments 
loose, pulp high flavored, sweet, aromatic. 



STANDARD PACK FOR CITRUS FRUITS 

A standard orange box in California is 12x12x26 inches outside 
measurements with a fruit space 11^^x11^x24 inches, and its weight 
is usually estimated at 72 pounds. A standard California lemon box 
is 10^x14x27 inches outside measurements, divided also into two 
compartments. Pomelos are packed in the orange box, while the 
Tangerines, Mandarins and other kid glove varieties are packed in 
half boxes of the orange size, two of which are cleated together for 
shipment. In rare instances they are packed in quarter boxes, four 
being cleated together. 

A carload of packed oranges varies some in number of boxes in 
keeping with the size of the car. A 36-foot car will take 336 boxes, 
the 40-foot car 384, and the 42-foot 409. In lemons the 36-foot car 
will take 288 boxes, the 40-foot car 312, and the 42- foot car 336. 



454 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

When packed the boxes are placed on end two tiers high and six rows 
wide, with a space for ventilation between each and every box, made 
feasible by nailing small strips of lumber of sufficient strength cross- 
wise of the car. 

In oranges the regular sizes are 126, 150, 176, 200, 216; small 
"off-sizes" 250, 324, 360; large "off-sizes" 64, 80, 96, 112. The 
relative value of the different sizes in the regular trade is given by 
Mr. Powell, whose excellent publication on the marketing of oranges 
is cited in the chapter on that fruit, in this way: "A car of Wash- 
ington Navel oranges may contain boxes of all sizes. A car is called 
a "standard car" when it contains not more than ten per cent of each 
of the following sizes: 96, 112, 250, and not over twenty per cent of 
the 126 size. The remainder of the car may be divided among the 
150, 176, 200 and 216 sizes. If a car is sold to a dealer at a fixed 
price per box it is usual to allow a discount of 25 to 50 cents per box on 
the excess in the 96, 112, 126 and 250 sizes, and a discount of 50 
cents per box on the 48, 64, 80, 288, 300, 324, 360 and 420 sizes. The 
rule concerning the sizes in a standard car may vary with the season, 
with the section and with the general size of the fruit taken as a 
whole. When oranges of either the large or small sizes are scarce, 
they are at a premium, and the proportion in a car may be raised 
without discount. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

THE POMELO OR GRAPE FRUIT IN CALIFORNIA 

This citrus fruit achieved a very sudden interest in California 
because of the prices commanded by Florida pomeloes about twenty 
years ago. When this supply of eastern cities was cut off by the 
serious frost injuries in Florida there arose a passion for planting the 
trees in California, and a considerable acreage was planted, and as 
the tree is a very rapid grower and precocious in fruit-bearing, large 
shipments were made in 1898, but the results were not satisfactory, 
and since that time, although pomeloes sometimes sell to good ad- 
vantage, the demand is on the whole light and irregular. The local 
consumption of pomeloes in California is increasing but does not war- 
rant much acreage. For these reasons early plantings have been largely 
grafted over to the orange. 

The fruit is a Shaddock (Citrus dccumana). Varieties have been 
secured of smaller size and of blander flavor than the coarse, sour 
and acrid fruit which is suggested by its name. An effort has been 
made to secure the favorite varieties, and a large list has been planted 
in this State, but the fruit does not command the place at the East 
which was awarded to the Florida product. As a tree the pomelo 
most nearly resembles the orange and its culture is the same. As 
for varieties, California experience has been too brief and fitful to 
demonstrate particular value or adaptation in them. Among growers 
there is no wide agreement as to superiority from a commercial point 
of view. Amateurs can find many desirable sorts in our citrus 
nurseries. 

INIr. A. P. Griffith of Azusa is perhaps the most enthusiastic aiid 
confident of California growers that the pomelo grown in this State 
will attain wide popularity in the United States. His grove is now 
seven acres in extent, nearly all of the Nectar variety which is of the 
type which he believes should be grown to win public favor. He 
concludes that the market wants a fruit not smaller than 80's and pre- 
fers them to stop at 64's. A fruit flat-round that will cut up into two 
halves each of which will stand upright on a plate, cut side up, seems 
especially desirable. A fruit that is spherical or pear-shaped is nut 
desired. There are several varieties whose similarity in type would 
seem to warrant including all under one name. These, with the 
addition of the seedless, comprise all there is of intrinsic value among 
California pomeloes. If all other varieties not of this type were budded 
over, and thus taken out of the market, Mr. Griffith believes the 
demand would increase. Of the following varieties, the first is propa- 
gated by Mr. Griffith and the others by Mr. R. M. Teague of the San 
Dimas Citrus Nurseries and other citrus nurserymen : 

455 



456 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Nectar. — A Florida seedling, grown at Duarte; flat-round, heavy; peel 
smooth and bright, pale-lemon color ; oil cells small and numerous ; flesh dense, 
firm texture, abundant juice, vinous, excellent, bitter-sweet element distinct; 
few seeds and little rag; sizes from 42 to 80 to the box. 

Imperial. — Medium to large, peel very smooth, medium thin and of fine 
texture; little rag, juice abundant, fine aromatic flavor, good keeper and shipper. 
Tree upright and heavy bearer. 

Marsh Seedless. — Medium size, 52 to 64 to the box ; thin rind ; almost en- 
tirely seedless ; flesh dark and rich, a late keeper and early and abundant bearer. 

Triumph. — Medium size, peel smooth, clear, thin and fine grained ; very 
juicy, heavy and good flavored; juice free from bitterness; very little rag; an 
early and prolific bearer. 

Marketing Grape Fruit. — The California problem seems to be 
not only to grow grape fruit acceptable to consumers in distant mar- 
kets but to place the fruit upon those markets when they are not 
otherw^ise well supplied. Recently better results have been attained 
by shipping during the Valencia season than earlier. When California 
growers give as much attention to meeting the demand as they have 
to the orange and the lemon, it is to be expected that the grape fruit 
will become commercially more satisfactory. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE LEMON AND MINOR CITRUS FRUITS 

Lemon growing is a very unique and distinctive branch of Califor- 
nia horticulture, which in the present advancement of culture and 
preparation for the market, well illustrates the originality and invention 
which the California fruit grower has displayed in his undertakings. 
Lemon growing in California is old because it arose at the old mis- 
sions in the second century back of us, but successful lemon growing 
as a great industry is new and constantly assuming new phases. For 
the old seedling lemons were bad, and though enterprising growers 
soon learned that fact and set about getting better ones, it took years 
to secure them and to learn how to grow and handle them so that 
the Californian could displace the Sicilian fruit in the markets of the 
United States. Nor was time the only thing sacrificed — hundreds of 
thousands of dollars were lost before the California grower could put 
upon the market a good lemon, fit to stay good for a sufficient length 
of time. Unprofitable plantings ; expensive curing houses, which did 
not cure well ; countless experiments which yielded only loss and dis- 
appointment — all these are wrecks upon the rock of American lemon 
growing. 

Naturally Californians sought first to know how lemons were 
grown and handled abroad. At cost of great effort and outlay they 
learned practically nothing that they could do and a great deal that 
it was not necessary to do. Then they assumed a more rational mood 
— a disposition to discern what principles are involved in the problem, 
and to apply them in their own way according to conditions locally 
prevailing. Along this line grand success has been attained by a few 
masterful men conducting large lemon enterprises or smaller under- 
takings of their own, while the mass of lemon planters, for one reason 
or another, have never reaped the reward they expected. On the 
whole, it may be said that lemon growing is a much harder and more 
exacting enterprise than orange growing, and for this reason many 
have new-topped their trees to oranges and thus escape difficulties 
which they could not overcome. 

With the aid of the protective tariff the most resolute and capable 
have attained success, and now the California lemon is highly esteemed 
upon its merits everywhere. The tariff has somewhat reduced the 
effect of cheap labor in Italy and cheap water transportation from 
the Mediterranean region, and our lemons can sometimes compete 
with the foreign product not only in the west but even in the cities of 
the Atlantic seaboard. All this has been accomplished within two 
decades and it is a notable result. One measure of this fact may be 

457 



458 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

found in the shipment of over three thousand five hundred carloads 
during the season of 1906-7. The California lemon has, however, not 
yet attained mastery of American markets as the orange has, for 
there is a value of about four millions of dollars in imported lemons 
while imported oranges are only worth one-fourth as much. It is 
manifest that the lemon should be encouraged with increased pro- 
tection to enable producers to push the issue of an American lemon 
for Americans to a successful termination. 

The best pack of California lemons has a uniformity of size, a 
finish of skin, a juiciness and keen acidity which is unrivaled in the 
world. Numerous careful tests have been made of the California 
lemon in Atlantic cities in comparison with the best south European 
product, and the superiority of the American fruit has thus been 
demonstrated. 

SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR THE LEMON 

The lemon does best in a practically frostless situation. Such 
places are found in largest area in the southern half of the coast 
regions of California, but also exist at favoring elevations in the 
interior. The moderating influence of proximity to salt water, and the 
efifect of local topography and environment, which give frost-free 
nooks or belts, are elements favoring the lemon grower. In such 
situations the lemon blooms and fruits continuously throughout the 
year. 

While the lemon requires a less extreme of low temperature than 
the orange, it also thrives with a less extreme of high temperature and 
less duration of it. It apparently does not require as much heat to 
develop acid, which is the charm of the lemon, as it does sugar, which 
is essential to an acceptable orange; therefore, a coast situation which 
may not yield a sweet orange may produce a good lemon, although 
it is a fact that in the southern coast region, where the largest com- 
mercial production of lemons is now achieved, the orange also does 
well. Another advantage of the lower summer temperature is that the 
continuous ripening is not interfered with, as it is by high summer 
heat, which hastens maturity and brings the mass of the fruit to 
marketable condition in the winter — a season when the demand for 
the lemon is very small. This objection is, however, being measur- 
ably overcome by the proper storage and treatment of the fruit for 
sale, at a considerable interval after picking, as will be mentioned 
presently. But both the curing and storage of lemons are more easily 
secured in the more equable temperature and moister air of the coast 
region. 

The lemon delights in a sandy loam, and probably our best orchards 
are on such soil, but the trees thrive in other soils. There is a differ- 
ence of opinion among growers as to what soil is to be especially 



PLANTING AND PRUNING LEMONS 459 

sought for. There are profitable lemon orchards in southern Califor- 
nia located upon deep clay loams, and even upon strong red clay soils. 
As with some other fruits, the choice of soil is, to a certain extent, 
governed by the stock on which the lemon is worked. 



PROPAGATING AND PLANTING 

The prevailing stock for the lemon is the orange seedling either 
the sweet or sour stock, under the same conditions that each is pre- 
ferred for the orange, the sour stock resisting measurably the effects 
of ill-drainage of heavy land or flat, low places. The orange root 
thrives on a greater variety of soils than the lemon, and produces a 
healthy lemon tree where the lemon on its own root would fail. The 
growth of orange seedlings for budding has been described in the last 
chapter. If lemon seedlings are desired they may be grown in the 
same way. Plants either for permanent growth or for stocks for 
budding can be grown from cuttings, as explained in Chapter VIII. 
The budding of the lemon is practically the same as of the orange, 
which has been described. An old tree can be changed from one 
variety to another by the methods described for the orange, and 
oranges can be worked into old lemon trees and good fruit secured 
if the lemon itself be growing upon an orange root, which is likely 
to be tlie case with trees planted during the last decade. 

Planting of the lemon is the same as that of the orange. The 
distance in planting varies from twenty to twenty-five feet. Irrigation 
of lemon and orange trees is also similar. 



PRUNING THE LEMON 

The pruning of the lemon is essentially different from that of the 
orange, because the habit of the tree is different. The lemon requires 
constant attention to bring it into good bearing form and keep it 
tliere; the orange, after it is well shaped, simply needs attention to 
encourage it to retain the bearing form to which it seems naturally 
disposed. The orange provides itself with satisfactory bearing wood, 
as a rule ; the lemon devotes itself, even when it is old enough to 
know better, to a rangy rambling wood growth with bearing wood 
upon the ends of willowy rods where it is swept about in the wind 
and burned in the sun, instead of nestling it neatly among the leaves 
as the orange does. 

The rational proceeding with the lemon is, then, to develop it at 
first into a low, stocky and strong form, such as is described in Chapter 
XII for deciduous tree. This may be secured by pinching so as not ot 



460 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



allow running out of long branches at first, or it may be secured by 
severe cutting back of the long growths of the young tree. In either 
case low branches will be secured. Make good selection from these 
branches to form a symmetrical tree and cut back the growth which 
comes upon them to cause it to branch in its turn. In this way plenty 
of good, strong wood is secured low down, and with short distances 



\ 


■M 


h 


^^^ 


F 






^^K 


' :0. 






^^A 


^^vP 






^p#*^^ 


Slii{k'4ii^Hi^^BK>-.i^o^ 


^^^ 


jK : ..-''-' — 







Lemon tree with fruit near ground but capable of under-cultivation 



between the laterals. Strong, upright shoots (wrongly called '''suck- 
ers") which break out at points where branches are not desired, should 
be rubbed off or cleanly cut away. Having secured about the right 
branching in about the right places no strong sprouts should be 
allowed, and the tree should be encouraged to make smaller laterals, 
which will be the bearing wood. It must be admitted, however, that 
this rational plan of restricting wood growth and directing the ener- 
gies of the tree to fruit has in some cases been pursued too far and 
the tree has resented repression by diminished thrift. The pruner 
must allow freer growth of shoot to secure better foliage. The pruning 
of the lemon as of other trees must always be pursued with judgment 
rather than by recipe. 

When the adequate growth of bearing wood within reach is borne 
in mind it appears that the pruning of the lemon involves many of 
the considerations urged in Chapter XII for deciduous fruits ; the 
method of making a strong, short trunk, the arrangement of branches, 
the prevention of long growths, the encouragement of low, bearing 



PRUNING THE LEMON 



461 



twigs, the thinning of twigs to prevent the tree from becoming too 
dense, the points to be observed in cutting back, not by shearing but 
by treating each branch according to its position and vigor — all these 
must be borne in mind by the lemon pruner. It must also be remem- 
bered that the work must be resolutely continued and the tree always 
prevented from wild growth and kept down to bearing on the smaller 







n:>m^ 



^nJ^ 



rjy^_ 



^ii* • ■^:i^'^->'•^ 



.* ^yy--.^:^fx^X 






s(i>^xi«c».i.<ja.>i;jraiuWiS!^'>M'» 



Lemon tree under-pruned to bring fruit a distance from the soil. 



twigs, which are promoted and retained for that purpose. The build- 
ing-down process described for the young orange is easily applicable 
to the lemon. 

Old lemon trees which have been allowed to grow away into a 
long, rangy form and to bear fruit too high for profit, can be brought 
down to good form by severe cutting back and after-treatment of the 
new shoots, keeping the smaller horizontal growths and cutting out 
cleanly the strong upright shoots, or cutting them back if more 
branches are needed. The time for pruning the lemon depends upon 
the end in view ; if a young tree, to promote wood growth, prune at 
the opening of the growing season in the spring; in older trees, to 
repress growth and advance fruiting, prune in midsummer. 

When it is remembered that harvesting lemons is a continuous 
operation as will be stated presently, keeping the bearing wood of 
the tree within easy reach is more imperative from an economic point 
of view than with trees from which fewer pickings gather the crop. 
Adjacent engravings give suggestive views of rationally controlled 



462 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



lemon trees. Pruning is also related to escaping infection of the 
fruit from the ground which will be discussed in the Chapter on 
Diseases of Trees and Vines. 




Lemon tree with medium amount of under-pruning. 



PREPARATION OF LEMONS FOR MARKETING 

The lemon as taken from the tree is not in condition for marketing 
except to packers who wish to undertake the curing. To secure best 
results in quality and in keeping properties, the lemon should be 
carefully cut from the tree as soon as proper size is reached. To allow 
the fruit to hang upon the tree until lemon color is assumed, gives a 
lemon which is deficient in juice, oversized, apt to develop bitterness, 
and prone to decay. Two and five-sixteenths rings are used for winter 
pickings and 2^ for spring and summer, never more than six weeks 
being allowed to elapse between pickings, and the fruit is usually 
picked once a month. By careful attention to this, desirable sizes and 
good-keeping stock are obtained. Neglect of this is the weak point 
of many of the lemon growers of California. Mr. C. C. Teague, 
manager of the Limoneira Company of Santa Paula, Ventura County, 
the largest lemon growing concern in California, has made close exam- 
ination of practice among lemon growers, and concludes that the 
carelessness with which picking is done is almost criminal. In grove 



LEMON PACKING AND CURING 



463 



after grove which he visited at least 50 per cent, of the vahies had 
been lost by allowing the fruit to hang on the tree too long. Not 
only on account of large sizes would it have to be discounted 50 cents 
per box, but the keeping quality of the lemon which is allowed to 
mature on the tree is never good. Good results can not be obtained, 
even by the best methods of keeping lemons, unless the fruit is picked 




Washinsr Lemons — Curing Tent in background. 



464 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

at the proper time and properly handled. Mr. Teague says a lemon 
should be handled as carefully as an egg. 

If gathered before the color begins to turn properly cured lemons 
may be kept for months, and they will improve in market qualities, 
by a thinning and toughening of the skin, and by increase of juice 
contents. This curing of the fruit, as it is called, is accomplished in 
many simple ways. If the fruit is gathered and placed in piles under 
the trees, where, with low-headed trees, it is completely shaded by the 
foliage, it processes well and comes out beautiful in color and excel- 
lent in quality, providing it is a good variety. Some have trusted 
wholly to this open-air curing under the trees, merely protecting the 
fruit by a thin covering of straw, or other light, dry materials. Others 
let the fruit lie a few days under the trees, carefully shaded from the 
sun, and place it in boxes or upon trays, and keep it months in a 
darkened fruit-house, providing ventilation but guarding the fruit 
against draughts of air. Gathering the fruit while still green and 
packing with alternate layers of dry sand, has given excellent market- 
able fruit, but of course the handling of so much sand is too expensive 
nor is it at all necessary. 

Much attention has been given to lemon storage in southern 
California, and many curing and storage houses have been constructed. 
Naturally there is great variation in design and method of operation. 
The essential conditions to be secured are exclusion of light ; regula- 
tion of temperature ; ample ventilation, under control, however, so as 
to prevent entrance of air which is too dry or too hot; convenience 
and cheapness of handling, for the lemon is expensive in handling 
at best during the months of storage which is often desirable. Some 
of these conditions are relatively of much more importance in the 
interior than in the coast region, because heat and dry air reach 
occasionally extremes which are not experienced near the ocean which 
is a great regulator of temperature and atmospheric moisture. For 
these reasons a much simpler system of storage is now in large use in 
the coast district, while in the interior suitable special buildings or 
basements are apparently necessary. Anyone entering upon lemon 
handling should certainly visit establishments now in satisfactory use 
and learn by careful observation of their suitability to his purposes. 

Near the coast, and so far toward the interior as ocean influences 
extend m adequate degree, the building of special cui-ing houses has 
been abandoned and some quite expensive structures have been turned 
to other uses. An objection to house-storage lies in the fact that the 
fruit is apt to be massed in the house and that which is just picked 
given the same ventilation as that which has been in the house several 
months, when, as a matter of fact, lemons in different stages of curing 
require radically different treatment as regards ventilation. As a 



LEMON CURING HOUSE 465 

result of this treatment some of the fruit is usually wilted from 
receiving too much air, while the greater portion of it is badly decayed 
from receiving too little. 

Proper ventilation is the keynote of success in keeping lemons, and 
after extensive and expensive experience along the old lines, Mr. 
Teague of the Limoneira Company, already cited, concluded that lemon 
handlers had been on the wrong track in believing a low temperature 
first in importance. If the ventilation is right the temperature will 
take care of itself. Mr. Teague decided that proper conditions for 
keeping lemons lie just between the points where they wilt and where 
they sweat, inducing neither if possible, for too much moisture induces 
decay and too little causes shriveling. The fragment of the stem left 
on the fruit by the cutter may be used as a test ; if it adheres, the 
conditions are right for slow curing; if it detaches easily, the best 
keeping quality is not being secured. 

The Limoneira Company was first to equip a house on the open air 
plan. The house is 300x100 feet. The flooring is 2-inch planking 
and the roof covered with gravel-paper roofing. The building has no 
sides whatever, allowing free circulation of air. The fruit for storage 
is put into regular shipping boxes, piled in blocks of 560 boxes. There 
is a double row of these blocks on either side of a 20-foot space which 
extends to the entire length of the building, and which answers the 
double purpose of a work room and an air space. The boxes are 
so piled as to permit of the circulation of air around each box. Each 
block of fruit is covered by a canvas 10x10x20, made box shape by a 
canvas cover and four canvas curtains on rollers, the openings at the 
corners being closed by lacings as desirable. The ventilation is con- 
trolled by raising or lowering the canvas, and each block of fruit can 
be given exactly the ventilation that it requires, irrespective of the 
other fruit in the house. By this method 50 or 100 cars of fruit can 
be handled and kept in as good condition as if there was only one. 
Each block being numbered, a complete record of the lemons from 
each of the six sections of the ranch is kept from the time it is picked 
until the fruit is shipped. The fruit is all washed in a lemon washing 
machine, and is piled up in the house wet, just as it comes from the 
machine. The canvas covers are not dropped over it, however, until 
it is thoroughly dry. An idea of these curing tents can be had from 
an adjacent engraving which shows them on both sides of a central 
space which is used for packing the fruit in the shipping boxes. 

With proper curing facilities lemons picked in November and 
December may be kept until the following July. Later pickings may 
not keep so well and may be marketed first. Of the finer points in 
lemon handling, however, there is much which must be learned by 
experience. 



466 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

VARIETIES OF LEMONS FOR CALIFORNIA 

During the earlier years of California lemon growing- there were 
continuous efforts put forth to secure better lemon varieties. During 
the last decade three varieties have been accepted as satisfactory and 
nearly all others have been dropped. The three are Eureka, Lisbon, 
and Villa Franca, arranged according to present degree of popularity 
in southern California, where nearly the whole commercial product 
is now made, although some plantings have been undertaken farther 
north, shiefly in the citrus belt on the east side of the San Joaquin 
valley. 

Eureka. — A native of California, originated by C. R. Workman, at Los 
Angeles, from seed imported from Hamburg in 1872, only one seed growing, 
from which buds were put by him on orange stock. Distributed by T. A. 
Garey, of Los Angeles. Tree very free from thorns. Fruit medium size, sweet 
rind, a good keeper, few seeds ; very popular, especially in coast regions. Less 
popular in the interior because of scant foliage. 

Lisbon. — Imported from Portugal; first grown by D. M. Burnham, of 
Riverside. Fruit uniformly medium size, rather oblong, fine grain, thin sweet 
rind, strong acid ; few seeds ; a good keeper ; tree is a strong grower, with com- 
pact foliage, prolific bearer, but starts bearing late; quite thorny, but thorns 
decrease in size as the tree grows older; popular at interior points especially. 

Villa FraMca.— Imported from Europe. Medium size, oblong, slightly pointed 
at the blossom end, rind thin, without bitterness, acid, strong, juicy, nearb' 
seedless. Tree thornless, branches spreading and somewhat drooping, foliage 
abundant; withstands lower temperature than other imported varieties. 

THE LIME 

The lime {Citrus incdica acida) has proved much less hardy than 
the lemon. It has been killed in situations where the orange and lemon 
have not been injured. Unless adequate protection is thought worth 
the effort, there is little use in planting the lime, except in a frostless 
situation. Such localities are found near the ocean in southern Cali- 
fornia, and here and there at proper elevation in the interior both 
north and south, still the growth of the lime must be counted very 
hazardous. There is less inducement to experiment with the fruit 
from the fact that the Pacific Coast markets are well supplied with 
Mexican limes, usually at prices which leave no opportunity for com- 
petitors. 

Limes are grown from seed, the variety usually coming true from 
seed. The trees are small and are frequently grown in hedge form. 
The common variety is the Mexican. The Imperial, a large, rather 
hardy variety, is favorably reported by several growers. 

THE CITRON 

This fruit (Citrus incdica cedra) is little grown in California, 
although it is quite hardy and could be produced over a large area. 
The only use for the fruit, which resembles a monstrous lemon, is in 



THE BERGAMOT 467 

its candied rind, and no one has deemed it worth while to push com- 
petition with the imported candied citron, though very fine experi- 
mental lots have been produced, and the interest of the fruit-preserving 
establishments in the product recurs periodically. There have been 
collections of citron trees imported from the Mediterranean region by 
the United States Department of Agriculture planted at several points 
in southern California. As yet no considerable product has been 
reached. There is, however, no cessation of interest, and experimental 
planting continues, with a prospect of satisfactory attainment ere long. 
Samples of the candied article have been approved by experts as very 
satisfactory. 

ORNAMENTAL CITRUS SPECIES 

There are grown in this State for curiosity or ornament various 
minor citrus species, including the Bergatnot and the dwarf ornamental 
sorts from Asia. There are, of course, the ornamental species grown 
by florists for their fragrant bloom. 



CHAPTER XXXV 
MINOR SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS IN CALIFORNIA 

A number of interesting fruits are now grown in this State which, 
for one reason or another, have not yet attained any great commercial 
importance, although some of them are advancing in popular esteem 
and likely to gain much higher place in the markets. Others will 
probably never be grown except for home use and garden ornament. 

THE BANANA 

The banana has been a favorite plant for experimental culture for 
many years, and though good fruit has been grown at various points 
in the State, the culture is too hazardous to warrant large investment, 
and if this danger was not present, the abundant supplies available 
from the islands of the Pacific would probably reduce the profits to a 
narrow margin. The banana can be trusted only in protected situations 
and in small numbers which can be given special attention. With these 
conditions the banana may yield very acceptable fruit for home use 
and be an ornament to the garden. Its beauty is, however, seriously 
impaired by winds, which whip its tender leaves into shreds and give 
the plant an unkempt appearance. 

The largest number of bananas are seen in Los Angeles and Santa 
Barbara, and one grower at an elevation near the latter place reports 
his table supplied daily throughout the year with the fruit of the 
Cavendish species, which is the most commonly grown sort. The 
Yellow Martinique or Yellow Costa Rica, the Orinoco, the Hawaiian 
Lele, Hart's Choice, and a large-fruited variety known in Los Angeles 
county as the Baldwin, are also approved by growers. How to grow 
bananas in the garden, according to the experience of the late S. H. 
Gerrish, of Sacramento, is as follows : 

By experiment I have found that the banana will live — if in a proper soil — • 
without injury to the roots, at a temperature as low as sixteen degrees Fahr. ; 
the stalk will stand a temperature of twenty-five degrees without injury, and 
the leaves are not wilted until the air is chilled to thirty degrees. My method 
has been to supply the richest food for this gigantic plant and force it to its 
extreme growth. Every one has old chip dirt, ashes, boots, shoes, clothes, and 
manure, which are often a nuisance. Dig a big hole, burv this up, in the center 
of the mass place a pailful of sand, and plant the fresh bulb. This is to 
preserve the dormant plant from the wire-worms and insects, which will not 
attack the growing plant. As the plant grows, give it an abundance of water 
and all the slops of the house. Any kind of manure, fresh or old, ashes, leaves, 
and vegetables will soon disappear and be absorbed bv this gigantic king of 
plants. As the rainy season approaches, pile all the leaves and twigs of trees 
around the plants. It protects the bulbs and makes the soil rich for next season. 

468 



CHERIMOYER AND CHOCHO 469 

THE CHERIMOYER OR PERUVIAN CUSTARD APPLE 

The oldest cherimoyer (Anona chenmoUa) is growing in Santa 
Barbara. The fruit was introduced about fifty years ago, and the parent 
tree has for many years produced abundant fruit in such perfection 
that the seeds have readily germinated, and the trees thus propagated 
have been in successful bearing in several Santa Barbara gardens. 
The leaves are oval and pointed at both ends; flowers solitary, very 
fragrant, and having a greenish color. Good specimens of the fruit 
are three or four inches in diameter, often heart-shaped, grayish brown 
or nearly black when fully ripe. The flesh, in which thirty or forty 
brown seeds are found, is soft, sweet, and pleasant to the taste, being 
most palatable when near decay. Mr. I. H. Cammack, of Whittier, 
describes the pulp as of the consistency of ice cream or a custard 
flavored with a blending of pineapples and bananas. If it has a fault 
it is too rich. Apparently it has no particular season for ripening, yet 
the best specimens seem to be found in Santa Barbara in April and 
May. The cherimoyer is also found in gardens in San Diego and Los 
Angeles counties. It needs a well-protected situation. The fruit has 
been marketed on a limited scale in Los Angeles, and larger plantations 
have been made, especially in the Cahuenga Valley, near Los Angeles. 
The plant comes true from seed and the tree bears in its fourth year, 
and should have as much room as an orange tree. Mr. C. P. Taft, 
of Orange, points out the fact that much can be gained by selection 
and propagation from the most satisfactory trees, as follows: 

Cherimoyers found in the gardens of southern California are almost always 
seedlings, and generallv shy bearers. There is but one named variety, so far 
as I am aware, the Golden Russet. This is very prolific and frequently attains 
large size. Specimens above one pound in weight are not uncommon. The 
quality is as good as any, but is variable owing to the season and time of 
ripening, much cold having a marked deteriorating effect. The normal shape 
is like that of the strawberry, and the variations from the normal are equally 
abundant ; in fact, in this respect the cherimolia is quite extraordinary, as the 
same tree will have on it fully matured fruit from less than an inch in diameter 
up to six or eight inches. In size the tree averages about the same as the 
peach. The market is a good one, large fruit commanding $3 per dozen or 
more, while the smaller ones sell by the pound at a relatively lower price. 



THE CHOCHO OR CHAYOTA 

The chocho plant is fruiting in Santa Barbara county, for Mr. 
Kinton Stevens, of Montecito, who obtained the seed from Samoa. 
Scchinm edule is the botanical name of this plant, but it is perhaps 
better known as "choco," "chocho," "chayota," and "Portuguese 
squash." It belongs to the order cucurbitacae, and is a perennial vine, 
resembling in growth and fruit our summer squash or vegetable mar- 
row. It is a very prolific bearer. Both the fruit and the great yam- 
like tuber are used as food by man and beast in the West Indies, where 



470 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

it is considered a wholesome article of diet. The roots often weigh 
as much as twenty pounds. They have a flavor similar to the yam, 
and are considered a greater delicacy than the fruit, which in a raw 
state resembles the chestnut in flavor, and under favorable conditions 
weighs over three pounds. The proper way to grow them is to plant 
the whole fruit, as they have but one seed, and they produce fruit in 
three months, under favorable conditions. 



THE GUAVA 

Two species of guava have been quite widely tried in this State — 
the strawberry guava (Psidimn cattlcyanum) and the lemon guava 
{Psidium guayava) .' The former is the hardier, and, in fact, seems to 
be about as hardy as the orange, and it has fruited in widely-separated 
parts of the State ; the latter is quite tender, and is at present only 
grown in favorable places along our southern coast, and even there 
it is found inferior in quality and usefulness to the strawberry guava. 

Mr. C. P. Taft, of Orange, has confidence in the lemon guava 
through the selection of better varieties. It is far larger than the 
Strawberry, and of quite attractive appearance. Sometimes the color 
is almost white, sometimes quite green, and frequently of a bright 
yellow, often with a red check. These variations are only what is 
naturally to be expected from seedlings, and almost no others have 
yet been planted. Mr. Taft has fruited quite a number, perhaps a 
hundred, and finds it to possess qualities which if properly selected and 
developed will cause it to equal the Strawberry guava in hardiness and 
flavor and early ripening. 

The guava grows quite readily from the seed, and grows from 
cuttings under glass. In regions of generous rainfall and on retentive 
soil it does not require irrigation, but it must have sufficient moisture 
at command. A light loam seems best adapted to the shrub. 



THE FEIJOA 

Along with the guava should be mentioned the Feijoa Sellowiana, 
a member also of the myrtle family. In habits of growth it is much 
the same as the guava and while the foliage is not so handsome, being 
of a generally silver gray effect, the flower is very showy. In May it 
sends forth a great profusion of blossoms, which may be called red, 
white and blue, unless one desires to be perfectly accurate, in which 
case the blue would have to be changed to purple. The petals are 
unusually thick and fleshy and are very sweet to the taste. The highly 
perfumed fruit, about one and one-half to two inches or more in length, 
comes in November. The flavor is delicious, like the strawberry but 



THE LOQUAT 471 

lacking- the acid. The seeds are very small, almost unnoticable ; quite 
a contrast in this respect to the guava. F. W. Popenoe, Altadena, Los 
Angele? County, has published an excellent monograph on this fruit. 



THE GRANADILLA 

The granadilla is the term applied to the edible fruit of a species 
of passion vine (Passiflora cdiilis) w^hich is quite hardy, and is g-row- 
ing in different parts of the State. The fruit is about the size of a 
small hen's Q^g, purple exterior when ripe, the thin, brittle shell inclos- 
ing a mass of small seeds covered with a brilliant yellow pulp, mildly 
acid, and of very agreeable flavor. Very good jelly has been made 
of the fruit. Another passion vine with large pink flowers is very 
widely distributed in California, and bears a large, yellowish-brown 
fruit with edible pulp. 

THE JUJUBE 

The jujube {^^yziphiis jujube), from the fruit of which the delicate 
paste of the confectioner is, or should be, made, was introduced by 
Mr. G P. Rixford in 1876, and is fruiting regularly and freely in sev- 
eral parts of the State. The plant is easily grown from seed or cuttings. 
The orange-red berries are produced three years from planting, and 
ripen in November and December. They are edible fresh or dried. 
As yet the fruit has not been turned to commercial account. 



THE LOQUAT 

The loquat (Eriobotrya Japonica) is widely grown in California 
as an ornamental plant, and a small amount of fruit is profitably 
marketed each year. During the last twenty years a very marked 
improvement in loquats has been achieved by painstaking effort by Mr, 
C. P. Taft, of Orange, whose experience is freely drawn upon in this 
chapter. Mr. Taft's work has demonstrated that this fruit is sus- 
ceptible of improvement in size, flavor, appearance, in bearing habit 
of the tree, and in direction of early and late varieties, and in all these 
directions not only in the line of better fruit, but fruit which com- 
mands in the market several times the value of the common types. 
Upon the basis of the new varieties the season for the loquat is from 
February to June, the bulk of the crop coming in April and the first 
half of May. The Advance Loquat was the first of the new varieties 
to attract attention. It is very prolific. The fruit is often as much 
as three inches in length, and from one inch to one and one-half inches 
iu diameter ; it being of a peculiar pear shape. The clusters frequently 



472 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

contain twenty specimens. Its color is a bright orange yellow when 
fully ripe, and it should never be picked until it is so. The flavor is 
distinct and very sweet. Many compare it to the cherry. If not 
bruised when handled it will keep easily two weeks, growing sweeter 
by the process, and will eventually shrivel up without decay, thus 
proving itself capable of being shipped long distances. Mr. Taft has 
named the following varieties : 

Blush. — ^Very large, much like Advance resistant to diseases. 

Advance. — Yellow, pear-shaped, from two to three inches in length, clusters 
very large, very sweet when fully ripe. 

Premier. — Salmon-colored, oval, large, but not as large as the Advance, 
sweet, but peculiar flavor. 

Victor. — Largest, color pink to red, probably the best for canning. 

Pineapple. — Very large, round, immense clusters ; flesh white, skin yellow. 

Commercial. — Very large, pear-shaped, yellow with white flesh. 



THE PERSIMMON 

The persimmon of the southern States (Diospyros Virginiana) was 
introduced into California in early days some time ago, as there are 
trees thirty to forty feet high growing on Rancho Chico. The widely- 
distributed species, however, is the Japanese (Diospyros Kaki), of 
which many varieties are now fruiting in different parts of the State. 
The tree is quite hardy, and fruits freely both along the coast region 
and in the interior. It easily takes the form of a low standard, and 
with its large, glossy leaves during the summer, and its immense, 
high-colored fruit clinging to the twigs after the leaves have fallen, 
it is a striking object in the orchard or in the house garden. 

Persimmons grow readily from seed, but in most cases the im- 
proved varieties must be reproduced by grafting on seedlings either 
of the Japanese or American species. The tree seems to thrive in any 
fair fruit soil, taking very kindly to close soils if well cultivated. The 
amounts of fruit now reaching our markets are increasing and a de- 
mand is found for certain amounts at fair prices, but there is no object 
now apparent for large increase of production. This fruit, so highly 
esteemed in the Orient and so highly praised by travelers, has not 
become as popular as expected on this coast, nor have the great 
markets at the East required more than a carload or two a year so 
far. Americans who wish persimmons at all seem to prefer the smaller 
but more piquant Virginia species. 

Recently, however, the local demand has increased because of the 
large numbers of Japanese who are now upon the Pacific Coast and 
a shipping demand for the fruit from Seattle to the Hawaiian Islands 
and other Pacific ports, has arisen. The removal of astringency while 
the fruit remains firm has been successfully accomplished by Mr. 



POMEGRANATE AND PAWPAW 473 

George C. Roeding" of Fresno, following a Japanese method. It is 
simply to place the fruit in tubs, from which saki, or Japanese "rice 
beer," has been lately removed. The tubs are hermetically sealed, and 
the fruit left in them from eight to ten days. When it is then removed, 
it is found to have altogether lost the puckering power. Mr. Roeding 
says that he used eight large saki tubs, each of which would hold 
twenty-five gallons, and in those treated one thousand pounds of per- 
simmons. 

THE PINEAPPLE 

Casual experiments with the pineapple in the open air in this State 
have been made for a number of years, the fruit being occasionally 
produced. Most has been accomplished by Mr. J. B. Rapp, of Holly- 
wood, Los Angeles County. Mr. Rapp's place is in the Cahuenga 
Valley, and in that part of the valley which is famed as frostless, where 
even beans and tomatoes survive winter temperatures. Mr. Rapp set 
out his first twenty-five plants in 1891, and a number of his neighbors 
also set out groups of plants, but two years finished up all but his. In 
1893 the first of his plants fruited, but they did not seem to take kindly 
to the situation at first. They grew very slowly and the first fruit only 
weighed half a pound. After setting out his own acclimated plants, 
they have done better each year, and the fruit which Mr. Rapp has 
sold recently has weighed from two to four pounds each. If the 
strongest offsets or suckers are planted they bear inside of a year, and 
Mr. Rapp is endeavoring to have his fruit set from May to November, 
as the fruit setting at other times in the year is usually undersized on 
account of the slow growth during the winter and early spring. It 
seems probable that the pineapple resents the dry air of our summer as 
well as the lack of winter heat, and a lath covering and a summer 
spraying may be desirable. It is very doubtful whether the fruit can 
be profitably grown in this State on a commercial scale. 

The pineapple thrives best on a fine sandy loam, but will grow 
well on many soils if well drained and cultivated. The plants can be 
set three by three or four by five feet, so as to allow cultivation both 
ways while the plants are young. Plants are secured from "suckers," 
which come from the root, from "slips," which grow on the stem 
just below the "apple," and from "crowns" or the tufts of leaves at the 
top of the fruit. Suckers are said to bear in one year, and slips and 
crowns in two years. Strong suckers are best for planting, and they 
should be set out early in the spring as soon as the danger of cold 
weather is over. 

THE POMEGRANATE 

This fruit (Punica granatum) , famed in literature and art, is grown 
in various parts of the State, and certain amounts are profitably sold. 



474 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The shrub or low tree, in good soil, will reach the height of twenty- 
feet. It is a hardy plant, easy of propagation from seed or cutting. 
The beauty of the tree, not taking the fruit into account, has caused it 
to be planted in many gardens. Exposed to the raw sea winds it does 
not bloom well nor set with fruit, and is best adapted to the warmer 
regions of the interior, where it is an early and abundant bearer. The 
variety chiefly cultivated is a bright orange color, but there is found 
a large variety of them, varying from almost pure white with a faint 
blush, to dark red. The fruit ripens in the warmer parts of the State, 
north and south, in October. 

THE STRAWBERRY TREE 

The Spanish madrono (Arbutus uncdo) is now quite widely grown, 
chiefly as an ornamental shrub or tree. The growth is exceedingly 
beautiful if kept free from scale insects, the fruit ranging as it ripens 
througli shades of yellow, orange, and deep red, and contrasting beau- 
tifully with the glossy evergreen foliage. The fruit is of pleasant 
flavor. 

MELON SHRUB 

This plant (Solanum Guatemalcnse) is a small, half-herbaceous 
shrub fiom the table-land of Guatemala. The fruit is yellow, splashed 
with violet, somewhat of the shape of the egg-plant, but is usually 
seedless, and is readily propagated from cuttings. There are thriving 
plants in many protected places in the State, and some fruit reaches 
the market, but few seem to like the flavor, which is something like a 
tomato and melon mixed. Its greatest use will probably be for salads. 



THE MELON TREE 

The melon pawpaw (Carica papaya) has been widely introduced 
experimentally in this State, and many situations are found unfitted 
for its growth, but satisfactory fruiting has been secured at several 
places in southern California, especially if protected the first year it 
will stand light frosts afterwards. With Mr. Cammack, at Whittier, 
Los Angeles County, it ripens fruit the third year from the seed — 
the fruit being pleasant to eat as one would a mushroom. The large 
fig-like leaves and the peculiar markings of the trunk make the tree 
a very striking object. 

THE PRICKLY PEAR 

The tuna, or fruit of the cactus (Opuntia vulgaris), is produced in 
nearly all parts of the State except on the mountains. It was one of 



THE ALLIGATOR PEAR 475 

the old mission fruits, and was enjoyed by the early mining population 
until better fruits were available It is about as large as a medium- 
sized pear, and has a pleasant acid flavor if one succeeds in escaping 
■the prickles in getting at the interior of the fruit. The tuna is still a 
commercial article in a small way. Plants are grown readily from cut- 
tings of the fleshy leaves. 

Quite a distinction must now be made between the foregoing and 
the smooth or spineless fruits which are superior in quality as well as 
unarmed with prickles, and therefore readily handled and eaten. 
Varieties more or less innocent in this respect were introduced from 
the Mediterranean region many years ago, and propagated to a limited 
extent. Recently Mr. Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa has undertaken 
special work with the cactus, both for fruiting and forage purposes, 
and has attained remarkable results which are attracting wide attention, 
and upon which producing enterprises are being undertaken. 



THE ALLIGATOR PEAR 

The avocado, or Aguacatc of the Mexicans {Persea gratissima) has 
proved hardy in several districts in the State, north and south. It is 
not likely that it will be satisfactory without high summer heat and 
freedom from heavy frosts. It is, however, one of the most promising 
of its class of fruits, as it is known to epicures, and its marketing at 
a high price reasonably assured. Mr. J. C. Harvey, of Los Angeles, 
gives tliis interesting account of it : 

It is a handsome evergreen tree, and, in the typical form, bears elHptical 
leaves from two and one-half to three inches in width narrow toward the 
base, and about six inches long. In some varieties the new growth is of a 
reddish brown, ultimately becoming deep sreen. The fruits are pear-shaped, 
about the size of a Bartlett pear, and contain a single, rather large seed. When 
ripe, tlie skin, which is much thinner than that of an orange, parts easily from 
the pulp, which is of a moderately firm though buttery consistency, and forms, 
with lime juice or pepper and salt, one of the most delicious salads known to 
epicures. Indeed, the fruit is a perfect mayonnaise in itself. Few persons fail 
to like it, even at first, and in countries where it is common, it is esteemed above 
all other vegetable productions, both by natives and foreigners alike. The pulp 
is quite rich in a bland and most agreeable oil, said to be very nutritious. The 
tree attains a height of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet, and forms a hand- 
some object when liberally cultivated. The tree is a gross feeder. Good- 
sized trees carry a large crop, which, after attaining a certain size, can be picked 
at intervals of a week or two extending over a period of two or three months, 
the fruits in each instance ripening in a week or ten days after gathering; 
and a very remarkable fact is that the quality or flavor of the last picking 
seems just the same as the first. 

The alligator pear must be considered as one of the most promising 
fruits included in this chapter ; it may prove the most profitable of the 
group. Efforts are in progress in California and elsewhere for im- 
proved varieties by selection and propagation by budding with the 



476 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

ordinary shield-bud and a waxed cloth binding, is easily done. The 
literature of the alligator pear is increasing and should be consulted.* 
Of progress in its growth thus far in southern California Mr. Taft 
writes : 

It is hardly probable that here in California we can ever produce fruit 
quite equal in size to the largest from the tropics, but there are smaller and 
hardier varieties which are no whit inferior but rather better in flavor and 
richness which have been found to do well. These are from local or Mexican 
seeds whose ancestors for many generations have grown in a climate much 
like our own. In southern California there are perhaps a hundred trees old 
enough to bear. Of these about ten produce abundant and regular crops. 
Fortunately they are so located as to indicate that there is a considerable area 
adapted to Avocado. Of these first class trees one or two grow at Hollywood, 
two or three in Los Angeles, one at Monrovia, one at Santa Ana, and I have 
two or three at Orange. One of those at Hollywood is probably the most 
prolific. 

It is from these trees that we should establish our groves. Probably the 
safest olan is to plant in orchard seedling trees, direct from the can or pot in 
which they are started, for many have found the Avocado rather cranky about 
transplanting. When balled, though, it moves readily enough. Trees which 
do not fruit satisfactorily can be budded over as soon as this fact is shown. 

As there is an uncommonly great variation in the time of blooming and 
also in the period required for the fruit of different types of trees to came 
to maturity, an orchard may be obtained by selection which will bear continu- 
ously. This is of course very desirable to the consumer and immaterial to the 
market grower, as there is plenty of demand at all times. 

The tree at Monrovia was grown by W. Chappelow and has been 
named for him by W. A. Taylor of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture who- imported the seed from Mexico. 

THE WHITE SAPOTA 

There are two old trees in Santa Barbara, one believed to have 
survived from the mission planting in the early part of the last cen- 
tury, the other half as old, of the white sapota {Casimiroa edulis). Dr. 
.Franceschi commends the tree for every garden. Mr. Harvey of Los 
Angeles describes the sapota as growing with him from seed from 
Vera Cruz as follows : 

This tree endures slight frosts unharmed. It is indigenous in northwest Mex- 
ico and is remarkable among the Anrantiacca, producing green colored flowers, 
and supperficially bears little resemblance to an otherwise well-marked order of 
plants. The fruits are the size of apples, and are esteemed in that portion of 
Mexico where it is common ; according to some botanical authorities it is not 
considered altogether wholesome, possessing narcotic properties. The pulp is 
described as possessing a delicious, melting, peach-like taste. 

Mr. Taft reports the sapota as bearing well with him. The tree is 
an exceedingly rapid grower, much after the habit of the walnut, but 
evergreen. In August and September the peach-like fruit, greenish 



* The Avocado, by G. N. Collins. Bulletin 77, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. 
of Agr., 1907. Consult also Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1905 and 1906. The 
Avocado in Southern California and the Development of the Avocado Industry by F. W. 
Popenoe, Altadena, Los Angeles county. 



OTHER FRUITS 477 

yellow, with large seeds shaped like those of an orange, matures well 
and is excellent, this being the normal season for ripening. At other 
times fruit is often found, but is apt to be worthless and even danger- 
ous. As it will not ripen well off the trees and must be quite soft 
when eaten, it will never be of much market value. 



THE TREE TOMATO 

This plant (Cyphomandra bctacca) is a native of Central America 
and is of shrubby habit, growing five or six feet high, with large, 
shining leaves, often a foot long. The flowers are fragrant, of a pale 
flesh color, with yellow stamens, and are followed by fruit the shape 
and size of a duck's egg, at first of a purple tint, but gradually assum- 
ing a warm, reddish color as it ripens. When ripe the fruit may be 
used raw as a tomato is. If the skin is removed and the fruit stewed 
with sugar, it has a slight sub-acid flavor which is very refreshing. 
It makes a fine jelly. The plants bear the second year from the seed 
and the fruit ripens continuously for several months. The seeds should 
be started just as are those of the common tomato, and the plants set 
out eight or ten feet apart. 



THE KAI APPLE 

This name is applied to the fruit of Aberia Caffra, a native of Natal 
and Kaffaria, a tall shrub, yielding an edible fruit of a golden yellow 
color, about an inch in diameter. It is commended as a hedge plant, 
as it is densely clothed with strong dry spines. The leaves are small 
and of a rich green hue. The fruit, which is produced freely in the 
warmer parts of the State, is chiefly used for making preserves. 



OTHER FRUITS' 

The foregoing enumeration does not include all the exotic fruits 
which have found a place on California soil. There are many more, 
some of which are demonstrating their fitness to add to the graces or 
the gains of our horticultural life. The caricas, carissas, eugenias, 
hovenia, etc., are all gaining places in California gardens. Even the 
more strictly tropical mango, the monstera, sapodilla and the like are 
claiming the attention of amateurs. Of the mango in southern Cali- 
fornia the best account is by F. W. Popenoe, Altadena. 



PART SIX : SMALL FRUITS 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
BERRIES AND CURRANTS IN CALIFORNIA 

In suitable soils and situations, and with proper care and cultivation, 
the small fruits sustain the general reputation of California by the size 
and quality of the product, and by the long-continued and abundant 
fruiting of the plants. Probably nowhere else in the world do small 
fruits better repay generous treatment than in this State, and probably 
nowhere do they sufifer more from neglect. There are parts of the 
State, of course, where some small fruits, left to their own resources, 
thrive and bear abundantly, but, speaking of the State as a whole, the 
price of success is intelligent devotion on the part of the grower. 

There are localities in California which favor almost continuous 
growth and fruiting of some of the small fruits, and it is no fiction to 
say that in such a place one may have raspberries and strawberries 
upon his table every month of the year. Such situations are the thermal 
belts, which are practically frostless, and, by securing favoring moisture 
conditions in the soil and proper varieties of the fruits, the existing 
temperature conditions will produce the results indicated. Though this 
be the case, the profitable growth of small fruits is not, of course, 
restricted to such situations, but the largest commercial enterprises are 
carried on in places where the summer-crop rule prevails, but the bear- 
ing season is much larger than in the eastern States. 

Small fruits for family use may be grown on all fertile soils, and 
therefore they should be produced on every farm. Growing for market 
on a large scale involves considerations of suitability of soil and climate, 
ease of cultivation, water supply, and facilities for transportation, which 
will probably occur to any one who gives the matter the thought and 
personal observation of existing small fruit farms, which such an 
important commercial venture should command. 

It is often claimed that soil for small fruits should be deep and rich 
of the types generally called garden soils. There is an advantage in 
this because of amount of plant food and retention of moisture when 
well cultivated, but at the same time shallow soils even when overlying 
hardpan, which may not suit deep rooting trees or garden roots, can 
be profitably used for small fruits if water and fertilizers are intel- 
ligently used. This will be stated more fully in the discussion of the 
strawberry, but the general fact is pertinent to the growth of other 
small fruits also. 

478 



GROWING BLACKBERRIES 479 

Preparation of soil for small fruits should be most thorough and 
careful. Even more generous work than that commanded in Chapter 
X for trees and vines should be done. It is the more necessary to 
work deeply because subsequent culture of small fruits must be shallow. 



THE BLACKBERRY 

The blackberry is a great favorite in California markets. It thrives 
in all parts of the State, and the plant is best suited of all small fruits 
to yield generously without irrigation, though it relishes sufficient 
moisture and repays it with fruit. There is great difference in practice 
as to supplying water artificially. The growth of cane, and the size 
and appearance of the fruit, will show the observing grower what 
should be the practice in his situation, and the general suggestions as 
to irrigation in Chapter XV are applicable. There are regions in which 
blackberries are irrigated weekly throughout the summer, and others 
in which the berries are gathered from June to November without irri- 
gation. Of course, with such wide local variations there can be no 
general rule for practice. Let the grower simply bear in mind that if 
he does not get good, plump, and glistening fruit and good strong 
growth of new canes at the same time, he should give irrigation. The 
requirements of the plant during the fruiting season are great, and they 
must be met. Many failures are due to lack of irrigation when needed. 

Propagation. — Blackberry plants are secured by digging up the 
shoots from old stools, securing therewith a bunch of fibrous roots 
with a portion of the main root. To propagate on a large scale dig up 
the roots entirely, and, cutting them up with pruning shears into pieces 
about two inches long, plant them in a well-prepared bed in the garden 
or nursery. Place the root cuttings about two inches apart and cover 
about three inches deep with well-pulverized soil, the depth being 
regulated of course, according to the nature of the soil, deeper in light 
than heavy soils. A light mulch will assist in retaining moisture. The 
time for this work is at the dormant period of the plant. One sum- 
mer's growth gives good plants for setting out. 

Planting out Blackberries. — Blackberries should be planted in 
rows far enough apart to admit of the use of the horse and cultivator. 
As the constant tendency of the plant is to extend itself in the growth 
of new canes, the rows should not be less than six to eight feet apart, 
and the plants about three feet apart in the row. The plants soon 
occupy the full space in the row, and cultivation is only possible between 
the rows. Some growers plant blackberries as they do grapevines, 
seven or eight feet apart both ways, and then cultivate with the horse 
both ways. Planting in rows is better. The number of plants to fill 




480 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

an acre at different distances can be calculated as described in Chapter 
XXVI for grapevines. 

D. Edson Smith, of Orange County, who had much experience 
with small fruits, described his method of laying out and planting on 
a large scale, with a view to irrigation, as follows : 

Plow deeply and harrow thoroughly several times before setting out. 
Lastly, open a trench with your nlow where the row is to be, twenty inches 
deep; go along with a basket of plants, a four-foot lath and a shovel, and set 
a plant in this trench every four feet and fill the dirt around it with the shovel. 
If this trench is too deep in places for the length of the plant root, fill in with 
a little dirt; if not quite deep enough in places, scoop out a shovelful. Aim, in 
preparing the ground with plow and smoother, to leave it dishing each way 
toward the row of young plants, so that irrigating water turned in at the 
upper end will run along the row of plants as in a trough. Aim to have the 
ground around the set plants a few inches below the general level of the land. 
After the plants are all set in a row, go along with a rake if there are but a 
few plants, or with a horse-hoe if there are manv. and fill in the trench between 
the plants. It is a pleasure to set out plants in this way, and such deep, rich 
well-stirred soil delights the plant roots, so that they grow rapidly in every 
direction, and the plants throw up their heads in a manner entirely satisfac- 
tory to all concerned. If the ground is dry, or there is no rain soon after 
setting out the plants, irrigating water should be turned down the row or at 
least a quart or two of water poured around each plant ; then, before the_ soil 
hardens, stir it well with cultivator and hoe. All future care resolves itself 
into frequent waterings and frequent stirrings of the soil. Allow no weeds to 
appear, and keeo three inches of surface soil well loosened with the horse and 
hoes. These small fruits require frequent waterings, especially when forming 
fruit and during the fruiting season. 

Cultivation. — Thorough cultivation of the surface soil is essen- 
tial for retention of moisture. After the plants attain size, cultivation 
should be secured with as shallow-cutting tools as possible so as to 
prevent injury to the roots, which not only weakens the plant, but 
increases the growth of suckers between the rows. A horse-hoe with 
a long knife running horizontally, or with duck-foot teeth, well sharp- 
ened, answers well in keeping the ground clear of weeds and suckers, 
and the surface loose. Due regard must, however, be paid to securing 
sufficient depth in this surface layer to prevent the soil beneath baking 
hard and drying out, as discussed in the chapter on cultivation. 

Frequency of cultivation depends upon irrigation, for the cultivator 
must always follow the application of water. The spaces in the row 
which can not be reached with the cultivator must be kept clean from 
weeds, and free from baking, by the use of the hoe. It is advisable 
that the cultivation be the cleanest possible, for moisture exhaustion by 
weeds can not be afforded. 

Pruning and Training. — There is a little difference in the way 
of training blackberries practiced in this State. Of course this does 
not include the "let alone" system, which is not followed by any good 
grower. The difference lies mainly in the use or disuse of artificial 
supports for the canes — the prevailing practice being to dispense with 
them. In either case the pruning of the canes is similar in kind but 



PRUNING BLACKBERRIES 481 

different in degree, for if no supports are used, the canes are headed 
lower. 

At planting- out, cut back the cane to near the surface of the ground 
and mark the plant with a small stake. At first the top growth should 
not be checked, but when new canes grow out strongly they should be 
pinched at the tip to force out lateral branches for fruiting the next 
year. Those w^ho intend to tie canes to a stake or trellis let them attain 
a height of five or six feet before pinching off the terminal bud ; those 
who intend to teach the cane to stand alone pinch when it is from two 
to four feet high. All agree to pinch off the ends of the lateral 
branches at about twelve inches from the main stem. This pinching of 
blackberry canes may be done by the watchful grower of a few plants, 
with the thumb and finger, but thrifty blackberry plants are such rapid 
cane growers that in large plantations cutting back is often done with 
a sickle or corn hook or sharp butcher-knife, several times in the course 
of the summer. It is also advisable to thin out the suckers with the hoe 
while cutting out weeds, leaving only about as many as it is desired 
to have for fruit the next season. This method gives stout canes, with 
plenty of short side branches, well supplied with buds, which will send 
out fruiting shoots the following spring. If supports are used, the four 
to six canes which are left to each stool are gathered within a loosely- 
drawn bale rope and tied to the stake ; or if a trellis is used, the branches 
are brought up to the wire or slat so that the distance is about evenly 
divided between the shoots. 

Though these systematic methods of summer pruning are practiced 
and advocated by the most careful growers, it should be stated that 
there are large plantations which are conducted upon a more simple 
system. The pruning consists in cutting out old canes in the winter, 
and the only summer pruning is slashing off these canes which interfere 
with cultivation. The canes are sometimes held up by tying bunches 
of them together with ropes. Of course this system costs less than the 
more careful one which has been described, and yields profit enough 
to induce adherence to it. No doubt quite as great weight of berries 
could be had from a smaller area by a better system of growing. 

After the leaves fall, the canes which have borne fruit during the 
summer are all cut off even with the surface of the ground with long- 
handled pruning shears or with a short hooked knife with a long 
handle, and all debris removed from the rows. 

Application of Manure. — The blackberry loves very rich ground, 
and plenty of well-rotted stable manure or compost, as described in 
Chapter XIV, should be applied. It is a good plan to apply in a thick 
covering all over the ground and between the canes as soon as the 
patch is cleaned up in the fall. The early rains carry down the soluble 
parts of the manure, and later in the season the whole is plowed in 



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The Mammoth Blackberry. 



482 



BLACKBERRY-RASPBERRY HYBRIDS 483 

between the rows, leaving a foot or more next the plants to be carefully 
forked in, as the digging fork does not cut the roots like the spade. 

Mulching. — The mulch, to keep the ground moist and to obviate 
summer cultivation, is very satisfactory where it is thoroughly done. 
Apply coarse manure or partially-rotted straw and the like, after the 
last spring cultivation, and use the hoe to keep down weeds and suckers 
which come up between the rows. Some growers use mulch close to 
the canes, cultivating the remainder of the ground between the rows. 

Bearing Age and Longevity. — If blackberry plants are well 
treated the first year after planting out, there will be considerable fruit 
the following summer. How long the plants will bear satisfactorily 
depends, also, on situation and treatment. Sometimes the plants fail 
early ; even with good, generous treatment in good soil, the old stool 
becomes weak, the shoots are thin, and the fruit small. Some count 
about eight years as the profitable age of the plant, and then cut out 
plants and give the land a change. Of course berry growers prepare 
for this by frequently making new plantations. 

Varieties of the Blackberry. — Comparatively few kinds are 
largely grown. The Wilson Junior, Lawton, and Kittatinny were for- 
merly tlie prevailing kinds, ri])ening in the order named. The Erie is 
favored by some as a middle season variety. The Early Harvest has 
been favorably reported by a number of growers. These have, however, 
been largely superseded by a renamed variety, Crandall's Early, which 
is the earliest of the improved varieties, and has a very long fruiting 
season. The fruit was named after Dr. J. R. Crandall, of Auburn, who 
first fruited the variety from plants given him by a stranger hailing 
from Texas, and the proper name of the variety is probably Texas 
Early. It is a strong, vigorous, hardy plant, very productive, of firm, 
handsome berries ; resembles Lawton in canes, leaves, and flavor of 
fruit ; not given to sprouting from running roots. 

Another variety which has advanced in favor is the Oregon Ever- 
green, introduced from Oregon but not native nor originated in that 
State. The late John Rock described it as follows : "Origin unknown ; 
beautiful ; cut-leaved foliage, which it retains during the winter ; berries 
large, black, sweet, rich, and delicious. It continues to ripen from July 
to November, which makes it one of the best berries for family use." 
It loses size and quality notably on scant moisture. 

Some effort has been made to secure improved varieties of our na- 
tive blackberry, and a most striking result has been secured by Judge 
J. H. Logan, of Santa Cruz, by crossing the wild berry with Crandall's 
Early, producing a fruit so large that it has been named "Mammoth" 
by its originator. The canes of the Mammoth are very peculiar, being 
very large and thickly covered with small, short spines. The canes 
start early in March,, grow thick and stout until about five feet 



484 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

high. They then take on a running habit and grow from twenty-five 
to thirty feet in a season. Late in the fall the tips or stolons seek the 
ground' and take root. The Mammoth is not an evergreen like its 
Texas parent, although it does not entirely lose its leaves in winter. 
It begins to grow and flower very early in spring and ripens its fruit 
the last of May, some weeks earlier than the Lawton. The fruit is 
more acid than the Lawton, but, when perfectly ripe, is sweet and of 
superior flavor. When cooked or canned the flavor is identical with 
the wild berry of California. This variety is often wrongly called 
"Black Loganberry." 

The Himalaya is a blackberry of wonderful growth and prolificness, 
highly praised by amateurs, but not yet fully made out from a com- 
mercial point of view. It is magnificent on a garden fence or trellis. 

The Dewberry. — The improved varieties of the dewberry, or 
trailing blackberry, are now quite widely known and highly praised. 
Some growers use trellises ; others train the vines along rows on the 
ground surface. The following is the method of Mr. A. M. Munger, 
of Fresno, and includes irrigation arrangements : 

For planting the Lucretia dewberry, prepare the ground by plowing deep 
and cultivating until the dirt is thoroughly pulverized. Set the plants about 
three inches deep and four feet apart, in rows, leaving a space of six feet 
between the rows. Plant between February iSth and March 15th. Irrigate as 
often as once a month, always thoroughly cultivating after each irrigation. Bv 
so doing a sufficient growth is secured to produce a good crop the second year. 
Immediately after the first rainfall, generally in October, the vines should be 
pruned by cuttine back within about sixteen inches of the base of the vine. 

In February of the second year, plow between the rows with a small one- 
horse plow, turning the furrows toward the vines, but using a shield so as not 
to cover them. Follow immediatelv with a hoe, drawing the dirt up under 
the vines and forming a ridge. This ridge should be high enough to keep the 
vines up out of the water when irrigating. After this ridge is formed, water 
should be run quite often, as the dewberry requires a great deal of water to 
mature properly. The vines should be irrigated as often as three times at 
least during the spring. The fruit begins to ripen in Fresno about May 25th, 
and continues about one month. The dewberry roots readily from the tips 
without covering if the soil is loose and moist. If many plants are desired 
it is advisable to cover slightly, and the tips will root as soon as the soil is 
moistened by the fall rains. 

The dewberry which has recently been most largely planted in cen- 
tral and southern California is known as the Gardena because of the 
prolificness and profitability of a patch grown by W. M. Gray, of Gar- 
dena, Los Angeles county. Its qualities are vigorous growth, hardi- 
ness, regular and profuse yield of large, early berries. 

Pruning and Training Trailing Berries. — With reference to the 
handling of trailing blackberries and the blackberry-raspberry hybrids 
which are continually becoming more popular, it may be said that there 
is no one best way. There are several good ways, according to the 
desires and convenience of the growers, and this is the reason why 
there is an apparent conflict in which all contestants may be right, each 



BLACKBERRY-RASPBERRY HYBRIDS 485 

from his own point of view. The varieties are sufficiently aUke to be 
discussed together. What seem to us the essentials in pruning them are 
these. 

First, they all bear on canes which grow the previous year, and the 
fruit comes on laterals which break from them. In this mild climate 
there is continuous break of laterals which may cover quite a long 
period and the same wood may seem to be bearing twice. This second 
bearing is of so little account that the general rule to remove old wood 
after its main fruiting is a good one. 

Second, the wood which grows this year will therefore bear next 
year, and it will send out bearing laterals sufficiently with a number of 
treatments. The new cane may be pinched at any time during growth 
and it will then send wood laterals (not fruit laterals) at once and 
each of these laterals will have the same character that the main shoot 
would have had if it had not been pinched ; that is, it will send out fruit- 
ing laterals at the same date the following season. 

Third, it does not matter whether you make the new growth bunchy 
by laterals following pinching or whether you let it run out and cut ofif 
part of it at the end of the growing season or whether you shorten it 
in and at the same time cut away closely all the laterals which it may 
have made on its own account when it was running out. In all cases 
there will be dormant buds enough to give fruiting shoots on whatever 
part of the cane you reserve. 

Fourth, the way you prune, then, depends upon serving your own 
convenience in the training of these shoots up to a post, along on a 
wire or along on a ridge on the ground — whatever suits you best to 
keep the fruit out of the dirt, and to promote such cultivation as is de- 
sirable, etc., will be accepted by the plant as not interfering with its 
starting fruiting shoots from whatever dormant buds you have allowed 
it to retain on the wood which it matured the previous season. 

Fifth, there is in addition the application of the principle that good 
large fruit is the product of a plant which is not carrying too much 
bearing wood ; that is, is not endeavoring to perfect too much fruit at 
the same time. For this reason, as well as for convenience, it is de- 
sirable not to allow a plant to retain all the cane it grows, but to shorten 
it or to remove the laterals or part of them or to shorten the laterals or 
in any other way to require the plant to direct its energy to the better 
development of fewer fruits. 

Sixth, growers are, of course, influenced bydififerent considerations. 
Amateur growers delighting in running vines on fences or trellises 
would not prune as would a commercial grower, who can not have canes 
running all over his fields. The amateur can pinch a main shoot and 
send the laterals up the arms of a fan-shaped trellis if he likes and make 
an object of rare garden beauty, and he can reduce the excess of bearing 



486 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

wood by cutting away the parts of the laterals which run beyond his 
arms or extra ones beyond those he can carry on his trellis. From the 
point of view of the plant, he does the same thing that the commercial 
grower does when he comes along with his scythe or sickle and cuts 
away indiscriminately all the growth which goes beyond the space 
where it is convenient for him to have the fruit. 

Seventh, do not be too particular about exact methods to imitate ; 
try rather to discern principles which may be served by many different 
methods. 



THE CRANBERRY 

Though attention has been given to experiments with the growth 
of the Cranberry in California for many years, it has not been demon- 
strated that the culture is successful or profitable. Cranberries have 
been produced, and the fruit shown at fairs, but beyond this nothing 
has yet been accomplished. It would seem to be a fair conclusion that 
even in the most moist regions our summer air is too dry to suit the 
plant. 



THE CURRANT 

The Currant reaches perfection in size and quality in parts of Cali- 
fornia adapted to its growth, but its area is comparatively small. The 
plant does not thrive in the dry, heated air of the interior either at the 
north or south. It does well near the coast, especially in the upper half 
of the State, and is grown for market chiefly, on lands adjacent to the 
bay of San Francisco. The comparatively cool and moist air of the 
ocean favors it, but even here the sunburn, which is the bane of its ex- 
istence in the interior valleys, occasionally injures the fruit. Away from 
the coast, currants are grown to a limited extent along the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin Rivers, near their confluence, but not in the hot val- 
leys whence they flow. On the foothills, too, where the plant has a 
northerly slope, or other cooling influence, and sufficiently moist soil, 
it will do moderately well. It is quite possible that the currant may be 
satisfactorily grown for home use, or for local market in parts of the 
State where at present one does not find it, providing the moderating 
effect of elevation and northerly exposure, coupled with the shade of 
trees, be secured, but even then the hot north wind of the early summer 
may often injure the fruit. So far as the metropolitan market is con- 
cerned, it does not matter that the currant area is limited, for existing 
plantations produce all, and sometimes more, than can be profitably 
disposed of at present. It is possible, however, that the future may 
show a larger demand, for the pure food laws are likely to prevent the 



CRANBERRY AND CURRANT 487 

further selling of apple jelly with a currant color and flavor under the 
name of currant jelly. 

Propagation. — The currant is readily grown from cuttings. As 
soon as the bush drops its leaves, and the ground is in condition, as to 
moisture, secure the cuttings a foot in length from straight wood of the 
last growth, and place them in nursery or in permanent place, in good 
sandy or garden loam, deeply spaded and well broken up. Set the cut- 
ting firmly in the earth, six or seven inches deep. If they are to be 
trained as small trees, every bud below where the lowest limb is to 
start should be cut out — even to the end of the cutting underground — 
otherwise they will be continually throwing up suckers. If they are to 
grow as bushes, the natural and more productive form of the currant, 
set them as they are taken from the parent bush. 

Planting and Care. — Currants are usually grown in rows about 
five or six feet apart, the plants standing two and a half or three feet 
apart in the rows. Most of the currant plantations are between orchard 
rows, the partial shade of the trees being considered desirable. It is 
claimed that currants do best when interplanted with cherry, apricot, 
apple, and pear, not so well when associated with plum and peach, and 
the almond is least desirable — possibly because the almond is often 
given less cultivation than the pulpy fruits or is grown on lighter, drier 
soils. The cultivation is such as is usually given to the orchard, except 
that in heavy soil the plow is not allowed to come near the cuttings 
the first season for fear of tearing them from their rooting. After the 
first year the plow is used in the winter and the cultivator in summer. 

Currants will repay generous applications of well-rotted manure, 
and relish sufficient moisture in the soil. Where this can not be had 
from rainfall, and retained by cultivation and mulching, irrigation must 
be resorted to. 

Pruning. — If the currant is to be grown in tree form, the 
branches from the upper buds of the cutting should be shortened in at 
the end of the first summer, and branches growing horizontally should 
be removed. The weaker shoots in the head are thinned out, but not 
so much as to leave the top too open. If the plant is to grow as a bush, 
the only winter pruning will consist in removing dead wood, and thin- 
ning the new shoots as may seem desirable. Summer pinching of the 
new growth is desirable, as it causes the fruit to set closely and tends 
to a thick growth of foliage also, and this is necessary, for the bark 
is liable to sunburn, and the best fruit is that which is well sheltered 
by the leaves. Another advantage of the bush form is the less likeli- 
hood of killing by borers, which is imminent when the growth depends 
upon a single stem. 

Bearing. — The currant bears a quantity of excellent fruit the 
second year from the cutting, and reaches its fullest product about the 



488 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

fifth to the eighth year, when the yield in the Hayward region is said to 
range from one and a half to three tons to the acre. 

Varieties. — The Cherry currant is the prevailing variety, although 
the old sorts, the Red and White Dutch, the Red and White Grape, etc., 
are grown in some localities, and Fay's Prolific is approved by some 
growers. Pomona is one of the best of the newer red varieties and the 
old Fertile de Palluau is reported as doing better than others in hot, 
interior situations. Black currants are but little grown, the market de- 
mand for them being very light. 



THE GOOSEBERRY 

The Gooseberry is another fruit with somewhat circumscribed area 
in this State. In localities which favor it, the fruit is often found very 
profitable, but the demand does not warrant any great increase of prod- 
uct. Though the gooseberry thrives in some situations which do not 
suit the currant, they may both be described as averse to the hot and 
dry parts of the State. Still, for home use or local sale one can grow 
certain varieties of gooseberries successfully, by protecting them from 
too great exposure to the sun, and by keeping the soil sufficiently rich 
and moist. The choice of varieties is of the greatest importance, as 
will be mentioned presently. At present the chief supplies of the goose- 
berry, as of the currant, are produced in the country adjacent to San 
Francisco Bay, though thriving and profitable plantations are found 
elsewhere near the coast, here and there in the interior, and at consid- 
erable elevations on the slope of the Sierra Nevada. 

Propagation, Pruning, etc. — The gooseberry is grown from cut- 
tings, very much as already described for the currant. The common 
and the best method is to start the cuttings early in the winter, though 
some have succeeded with cuttings taken in the spring just as the new 
growth is starting out. Disbudding the lower part of the cutting if it is 
desired to train in tree form is also practised with the gooseberry, but 
a smaller percentage of cuttings is found to grow after disbudding. 

Gooseberries are planted out and cultivated as already described for 
currant?, and the requirements of the plant in soil, moisture, and ma- 
nuring are much the same. 

If the gooseberry is to be grown in tree form, constant attention to 
removal of suckers is necessary ; if in bush form, it will only be neces- 
sary to remove too old wood and thin out the new shoots. Suckers 
should be removed clean from the stem, so as to eradicate the latent 
buds, and pulling ofl: with a gloved hand, when the suckers become 
woody enough to withstand breaking, is advised. As with the currant, 
the borer is a constant menace to the life of a gooseberry plant confined 
to a single stem. 



THE GOOSEBERRY 489 

Diseases and Pests. — The gooseberry is subject to insect depre- 
dation both in wood and fruit and leaf. The prevailing trouble, how- 
ever, and that which causes the failure of so many foreign kinds, is the 
mildew. To escape this nothing is usually done except to select varieties 
not subject to the disease, but susceptible varieties can be protected by 
spraying just as the leaves are opening and once a month afterwards 
with potassium sulphide half an ounce to the gallon of water. This does 
not stam nor poison the fruit. The cooler and moister the air the less 
the mildew. 

Varieties of the Gooseberry. — The American varieties, Downing 
and Hor.ghton's Seedling, chiefly the latter, constituted for a long time 
the main varieties marketed in San Francisco. Early experiments with 
collections of English varieties showed that most of them were fail- 
ures because of mildew ; still a few of the green and white sorts, nota- 
bly the Whitesmith, have succeeded. The proportion of large berries 
now being marketed is much greater than formerly, and the superior 
price warrants especial effort to produce them. 

A large English variety, which was brought to California many 
years ago by the late John W. Dwindle, is now the most widely dis- 
tributed large kind. Its true name was lost and it has been propagated 
under various names, viz., Dwindle, Kelsey, New French ; but the name 
Berkeley, adopted by W. P. Hammon, in his wide distribution of it in 
1884, now prevails. It is large and handsome, very prolific, ripens 
early, and is usually free from mildew. 

The Champion, an Oregon seedling grown by Seth Lewdling, is 
medium sized, very smooth, and thick fleshed, the seeds being few and 
small. They are entirely free from mildew, and are clean, bright and 
beautiful. The Columbus, a New York variety, is large and of good 
quality and resists mildew well. 



THE MULBERRY 

Nearly all varieties of the mulberry have been introduced in Cali- 
fornia and grown rapidly and thriftily. Most attention has been paid to 
those varieties most suitable for feeding silk-worms, but the fruiting 
varieties are also grown here, though the fruit has assumed no com- 
mercial importance. The mulberry is grown readily from cuttings. The 
fruiting varieties thus far chiefly distributed are the Downing, Ever- 
bearing, the Persian, the New American, the Russian, and the Black 
Mulberry of Spain. All these bear large and desirable fruit. The last 
named, introduced by Felix Gillett, of Nevada City, is grown quite 
widely. The mulberry has a long season ; the Persian ripens in Tu- 
lare the last of May and continuously thereafter until October. 



490 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

THE RASPBERRY 

The raspberry is another of the great small fruits of California. It 
thrives over a great area of the State ; in fact, there are few situations 
in which it can not be grown with at least a measure of success if proper 
attention is given to retention of moisture in the surface soil, and to 
giving the plants partial shade in the heated valleys, and the cooler ex- 
posures in the foothills. The raspberry, skillfully pruned and gener- 
ously fed and cared for, is almost a constant bearer, as has already 
been intimated. It is a continual delight in the home garden, and al- 
ways brings a high average rate in local and metropolitan markets. 

The culture of the raspberry is in the main like that of the black- 
berry, as already described. The red varieties, which are the kinds al- 
most exclusively grown in this State, are propagated by suckers and 
root cuttings like the blackberry, but the "black caps" are propagated 
by layering the cane tips during the growing season, and this method 
is also necessary with the Loganberry and other blackberry-raspberry 
hybrids. Bending down a cane with its branches and covering lightly 
with soil and with a light mulch to retain moisture, will result in free 
rooting of the buried parts, and one can sometimes secure a dozen 
plants by the layering of a single cane with its laterals. 

The pruning of the raspberry is also by the renewal system, as ad- 
vised for the blackberry. The topping off of new canes, when they 
reach about three feet in height, the subsequent pinching of the laterals 
which are thus forced out, the resolute thinning out of sprouts so that 
but three or four strong canes are allowed from one root, the faithful 
repression of all weeds, the maintenance of a loose surface layer of the 
soil by very shallow cultivation, the free application of manure and of 
water unless a continually moist condition near the surface can be se- 
cured by cultivation and mulching — all these are among the essentials 
of cultivation which will secure abundant fruit and a long bearing sea- 
son. However, as has already been stated with regard to blackberries, 
there are large plantations which pursue a less careful system of culti- 
vation especially in the moderate heat and drouth of the coast district. 

Continuous bearing of the raspberry may be secured in those varie- 
ties which endure the treatment, by cutting out a cane as soon as its 
fruit is gathered, the force of the plant being then devoted to the fruit- 
ing of ?. second cane, which has previously been pinched, and a third 
shoot is pinched and allowed to mature its wood to carry over and bear 
the first crop of the following year. A succession of sprouts is gained 
by pinching off the tips of some as soon as they have grown up a few 
inches, which results in the growth of later shoots lower on the stems. 
In this way a succession of fruit is obtained. 

The Cuthbert and other strong-growing varieties, after the pinching 
at about three feet from the ground, will send out laterals which will 




491 



The Loganberry (natural size), a California Hybrid. 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

bear late in the fall, and the same cane will bear a crop early in the 
following spring-, when its career is ended and it should be removed. 

Raspberries are planted about three feet apart in rows, and the rows 
about six feet apart. They can be well grown nearer together than is 
required for blackberries. 

Varieties of the Raspberry. — The old varieties have been largely 
replaced by the Cuthbert, which is the universally popular and most 
largely-planted sort, having been found trustworthy as a grower and 
as a free and constant bearer. The good points of the Cuthbert, as 
representing the experience of many California growers, include the 
following: A profuse grower, with healthy and rich foliage, which 
protects fruit from sunburn ; an excellent bearer with the fruit well dis- 
tributed through the bush ; the fruit comes off easily, and does not 
crumble, is of fine flavor, and ships well. The Herstine, Franconia, 
King and Marlboro varieties are grown to a limited extent ; and the 
Barter, a renamed variety, the identity of which is unknown, has al- 
ways retained a degree of popularity in the foothill region of Placer 
County, where it first appeared. 

The Black Cap varieties thrive fairly in most parts of the State 
but do not sell well in the markets, and are only grown for home use. 
The golden or yellow raspberries are also out of favor because they are 
shy bearers and cut no figure in the California product. 

Blackberry-Raspberry Hybrids. — Two crosses of California ori- 
gin have been widely distributed and have demonstrated great value. 

The Loganberry was originated by Judge J. H. Logan of Santa 
Cruz, and is a cross between the California wild blackberry and a red 
raspberry, thought to be the red Antwerp. It was a chance hybrid de- 
veloped by growing plants from the seed of the wild blackberry in 1881. 
The plant was multiplied by its originator and fruited for more than 
ten years, plants being meantime given to Mr. James Waters, of Wat- 
sonville, who grew it on a commercial scale and was gratified at the 
results of his marketing of the fruit. The variety was first given to the 
public throug"h the University of California in 1893 and has since then 
been propagated by nurserymen and sold in large quantities. It has 
proved a most valuable fruit in all parts of California, and has com- 
manded the attention of pomologists and growers all over the world. 
The Loganberry is an exceedingly robust grower, and has unique foli- 
age and cane growth as well as fruit. The fruit is strikingly large and 
handsome ; sometimes an inch and a quarter long, with the shape of a 
blackberry, and sometimes the hue of a dark red raspberry. Its flavor 
is unique and peculiar, and gives to many tastes suggestions of the com- 
bination of blackberry and raspberry flavors. The culture of the Lo- 
ganberry is like that of the dewberry — both in growth and propagation, 
rooting readily from cane tips without covering, unless many plants 
are desired and then a covered cane will root at each joint. 



STRAWBERRY GROWING 493 

The Phenomenal is a hybrid which has recently been largely grown 
for a trade which prefers a less sharp acid than that of the Loganberry. 
It is one of the notable achievements of Air. Luther Burbank, of Santa 
Rosa, and is a cross between the California dewberry and a red rasp- 
berry. It is exceedingly large, bright crimson, very productive and of 
delicious flavor. The fruit comes in large clusters and single berries 
have weighed four to the ounce. In shipping it holds shape and color 
well. 



THE STRAWBERRY 

"Strawberries all the year round'' is the trite expression by which 
the charms of the California climate are characterized. It is no fiction, 
for in the wonderfully-even climate of regions adjacent to the coast 
and in thermal belts in the interior, the strawberry plant blooms and 
bears almost continuously, providing proper moisture conditions are 
maintained in the soil. There are, however, more or less well-defined 
crops, and "strawberries all the year" does not mean a uniform supply ; 
nor does it mean that everywhere in California can one expect such 
constant fruiting. In the very hot interior situations the plant rebels 
against the atmospheric conditions of midsummer, even though the 
ground be moist ; and in frosty places the plant becomes dormant dur- 
ing the wintry portion of the year. The conditions of constant growth 
and bearing are moderation of temperature and of atmospheric and 
soil moisture throughout the year. 



SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR THE STRAWBERRY 

Bearing in mind the conditions described, the strawberry can be 
grown anywhere in California. The native species, as mentioned in 
Chapter V, flourish from the sand of the ocean beach to the rich valleys 
of the Sierra, just below the line of perpetual snow, and the deduction 
is that wherever fertile soil and sweet water can be brought together in 
California, the strawberry will reward the grower. 

Strawberries do well on a variety of soils, but as a rule a deep, 
moist, loamy soil will yield best results. Boggy or swampy spots should 
be avoided unless drainage is provided, and in this way most excellent 
strawberry ground may sometimes be secured. Land which will pro- 
duce good potatoes or corn will generally yield good results with straw- 
berries, provided irrigation is furnished. In many regions the plants 
will hardly survive the summer without irrigation and everywhere a suc- 
cession of crops during the season depends upon irrigation. It is the 
common experience that light, warm soils yield the earliest and highest- 
flavored berries, and heavy soils the later and larger ones ; but the size 
of the berry depends more upon the supply of available moisture, and 



494 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

immense fruit can be produced on loose, open soils by free irrigation, 
And yet the heavier soil, both because of its usually superior fertility 
and retention of moisture, is preferred for the strawberry. The larg- 
est producing regions for the San Francisco market in the Santa Clara 
and Pajaro Valleys are comprised mainly of low-lying, heavy valley 
soils, naturally moist and rich, and furnished with abundant water sup- 
ply for irrigation. And yet in southern California the chief market 
crops are produced upon light sandy loams with water equal to the 
needs of the plants upon such a footing. It must be remembered that 
the strawberry is a shallow-rooting plant and must have moisture re- 
tained near the surface. Some loose soils, especially on uplands, are 
almost out of the question for strawberry growing. They are so leachy 
that they will not hold moisture near the surface though one should 
stand with a hose and almost continually pour it on. The plants would 
also dry up though the water were running near by in a ditch. To grow 
strawberries it is often an advantage to have a shallow loam over a clay 
or hardpan, for then the tight layer below will prevent the escape of 
the water below the reach of the roots. If this can not be had, the best 
way to grow strawberries on leachy soils for home use is to mulch and 
sprinkle. 

Propagation of the Strawberry. — Seedlings undertaken in the 
hope of originating valuable new varieties are easily grown by taking 
off the outside layer of the choicest berries, which carries with it the 
small, yellow seeds. Wash these from the skin and cover them slightly 
in a sandy soil partially shaded and kept moist by sprinkling, or a light 
•mulch, and the plants are readily grown. As with seedlings of other 
fruits, few, if any, will be found superior to the parent variety. 

Plants for setting out are secured by taking off the small growths 
rooted from runners. The strongest plants are those nearest to the 
parent plant. When these are allowed to root in small pots plunged 
into the soil, they are called "pot-grown," and are superior for plant- 
ing out, but they are not largely used in this State. When plants of 
any variety are desired for new beds or fields, a row or more are al- 
lowed to send out runners during the summer, and these are fit for 
taking up and replanting the following winter or spring. 

Laying off Ground for Strawberries. — The essentials are deep 
and thorough pulverization of the soil and grading of the surface so 
that water will flow slowly in the ditches. Suggestions as to location 
of grade lines may be found in Chapter XV. The inclination which 
answers for water distribution may be very slight ; about two inches 
to the hundred feet answers on the level lands of the Pajaro Valley, 
while in the foothills much greater fall is made use of, and on hillsides 
rows are located on contour lines and not in straight lines. A grade of 
three and three-quarters inches to the hundred feet is sometimes used. 
The triangle described in Chapter XV can be used to fix the grades. 



LAYING OFF FOR STRAWBERRY 



495 



Of course, in grading the field it is often necessary to give adja- 
cent blocks opposite inclinations to provide for the return of the water. 
On hillsides, where the water is carried down a ridge to a flume, it is 
usual to keep the water always running away from the flume, and only 
enough is taken out to reach the ends of the small ditches. A grade 
of six inches to the rod is practicable for hillside irrigation, but of 
course only a small flow of water is employed. 




A Valley Strawberry Patch with Windbreaks. 



There are various ways of laying out strawberry beds and planta- 
tions. Some give flat cultivation and lay out in single rows two and a 
half to three and a half feet apart, and in some districts flat culture is 
unquestionably the best. Others lay out in double rows a foot and one- 
half to two feet apart, and between each pair of rows the soil from the 
center is drawn up to each side, making a low ridge or level a little 
higher than the surface on which the plants are set. This levee serves 
as a walk between the beds and holds back the water upon the bed 
when irrigated by flooding. Another, and the generally adopted plan, 
is to have the plants in double rows on a slight ridge, while bteween 
the beds is a furrow which serves as a walk and for irrigation. This 
is accomplished by throwing up the soil with the plow into ridges about 
two feet wide, with a double furrow between. On the sides of these 
ridges the plants are set, and often on the top of the ridge between the 
rows of strawberries a single row of onions or lettuce, or some other 
vegetable, is grown the first year. In irrigation the water is drawn up 
from the trenches by the roots and by capillary attraction, and the up- 
per surface does not bake as it would by flooding if the soil be heavy. 



496 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

In hoeing out weeds and in fruit gathering, the workman walks in the 
ditch and does not pack the soil around the plant by tramping. This 
is the best method for laying out for large plantations. The rows are a 
uniform distance apart across the field, whether the space between be 
a ridge or a ditch. The method of making the beds a little lower than 
the general surface of the ground, answers best on free, open soils with 
perfect drainage. Cultivation can be reduced by covering the depressed 
surface of the bed with mulch of fine, clean litter, such as chaff, cut 
straw, etc. This retains moisture and givgs the berry a clean surface 
to rest on. Such a bed is an excellent arrangement for the home gar- 
den. 

In all arrangements the plants are set at less distances in the rows 
than the rows are from each other. Probably the prevailing distance is 
one foot between the plants ; the range is from eight to eighteen inches 
in the practice of different growers, and determined, of course, largely 
by the habit of the variety. A vine like the Sharpless, with a spreading 
growth and long fruit stem needs, perhaps, sixteen inches which some 
growers give it, while the smaller, more compact, Longworth Prolific, 
may do well with half that distance. ' 

Planting Strawberries. — Strawberry plants are set out either in 
spring or fall, or at any time in the winter when the ground is warm 
or in good condition. Fall planting usually gives a fuller spring crop 
though planting as late as February has brought two crops the follow- 
ing spring and summer, and planting in April has secured fruit the 
same year, but it is better to prevent it and induce more growth. Spring 
planting is in April and May. In the drier parts of the State, early fall 
or winter planting is more essential than elsewhere. If the ground is 
dry, water should always be used in planting. This may be given by 
thorough irrigation of the ground before planting, or a little water may 
be used in setting each plant. At planting it is usually best to remove 
all leaves from the plant, shorten the roots to three inches or less, and 
be sure the plants do not dry while planting progresses. As with handl- 
ing rooted grape-vines, it is advisable to carry around the plants in a 
vessel which has water in it. If the plants have been received by mail 
they are invigorated by soaking in water a few hours before planting. 

In setting the plants, scoop out a little excavation with the hand or 
a trowel, spread the roots well, cover with fine soil, being sure that the 
crown of the plant shall not be below the surface when the soil is lev- 
eled. Too many strawberry plants are buried, not planted. Some plant 
very rapidly by using a dibble to make a hole, into which the roots are 
dropped and soil pressed around them by using the dibble alongside ; 
others set the plants on the side of the furrow, trusting to the next fur- 
row to complete the covering. Nearly all ways succeed if the plant is 
not set too deeply and the ground is moist at planting and not allowed 



LAYING OFF FOR STRAWBERRIES 497 

to dry out afterwards — providing good, strong plants are used. In 
buying plants it is often poor economy to buy the cheapest. 

Staminate and Pistillate. — In associating varieties be sure the 
pistillate varieties are not set by themselves. Some sorts have perfect 
flowers and are self- fertilizing; others have only the pistillate element 
in the bloom and must have the staminate adjacent in another variety. 
All the varieties largely grown in California have perfect flowers, 
though some pistillate sorts have been locally approved. 

Care of the Strawberry Plantation. — Herein lies the secret of 
success with the strawberry. Neglect has led to disappointment and 
condemnation of the strawberry, where intelligent care would have 
rendered it a constant delight. The cheap elements of proper care may 
be thus enumerated : 

Retention of moisture very near the surface by careful, shallow 
cultivation or by mulching, persistent destruction of weeds, and com- 
pensation for summer evaporation by frequent irrigation. The plants 
during the bearing season should never be allowed to show any leaf- 
shriveling from drouth. Frequency of irrigation depends upon local 
conditions. Irrigation at intervals of four to ten days, according to 
the soil, are the outlines of prevailing practice. 

Constant removal of runners from all plants except those it is de- 
sired to multiply to furnish new plants or to fill the rows. Pinching of 
runners should always accompany picking or hoeing of weeds, and on 
the garden bed there can be no excuse for neglect in this respect. The 
young plants should be faithfully freed from runners to strengthen them 
up for bearing. 

Though, as already stated, strawberries may in some locations be 
had all winter, it is better practice, as a general rule, to lay the plants 
away for a rest. The market season in the regions supplying the San 
Francisco market extends from April to December, and fruit is con- 
tinuously shipped during that period. At the approach of winter in the 
last-named month, it is usual to go over the beds with a sickle, cutting 
off the old crops of leaves close to the root crown, carefully cleaning 
up the plantation for the heavy rains. In most cases it will be a great 
advantage then to cover over all with a light coat of good manure, 
which the winter rains will leach down into the soils. The result of the 
fall clipping and enriching will be an early and strong start of the plant 
in the spring, and a most abundant fruitage. 

Duration of the Plantation. — Strawberry plants well cared for 
and not visited by insect pests, have a long, productive, and profitable 
life in California. Twelve-year-old plants are sometimes reported as 
still producing abundantly. It is customary to count from five to eight 
years as the profitable life of a plant, though some growers replant after 
two bearing years. The effective duration depends directly upon pre- 
venting growth of plants and too close matting of the rows. 



498 CALIFORNIA FRtJiTS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Varieties of the Strawberry. — Though all new varieties are tried 
by California growers, and quite a number may be considered success- 
ful either for market or for home use, only a very few may be said to 
be widely grown. In the Watsonville district, which largely supplies 
San Francisco, the Melinda, which some growers hold to be indis- 
tinguishable from the Dollar, is chiefly grown, with Brandywine as a 
distant second. In the Florin district, near Sacramento, growing ber- 
ries to ship all through the northern States of the coast and eastward to 
Colorado, the Dollar is grown almost exclusively, with a few Jessies 
for extra early. Excelsior is also grown. In the districts near Los 
Angeles, the Brandywine prevails. It is best for shipping and is held 
to be sweeter than at the east and next to it, in the commercial 
fields at the south, is Klondyke. The Arizona Everbearing is declin- 
ing in popularity although still favored by amateurs for home use. 

Three old kinds which still hold favor for home use and local sale 
are the Longworth Prolific, the Sharpless, and the Monarch of the 
West. The Sharpless is the most widely grown ; the Monarch shows 
better size and color in southern California and on the Sierra foothills 
than in the regions adjacent to San Francisco, although it is still grown 
therein to some extent. The Longworth is an old favorite, early, pro- 
ductive and hardy, and its style has become very popular in the mar- 
kets. Wilson's Albany also holds favor. 

It has been demonstrated that varieties show marked difference in 
behavior in different soils and situations. In planting for market or 
home use the planter will be safer in making his largest plantations of 
the varieties commended by leading growers and well informed nursery- 
men, and at the same time he should put out experimental plants of 
other varieties. 

The most notable work for new varieties in California is being pur- 
sued by Albert F. Etter, of Briceland, Humboldt county. He is cross- 
ing cultivated varieties with local wild species and is thus introducing 
factors not employed hitherto with results which promise to be notable. 
His first named variety is Rose Ettersburg, which is a cross of a third 
generation Sharpless x Parry with a novel type of Fragaria Chiloensis. 
It has remarkable drouth resistance and thrift on poor soils. The blos- 
soms are often as large as a silver dollar, the berries large, often 1^^ 
inches in diameter, and bluish pink in color. Single stocks from sets 18 
months out measured 22 inches high and over 10 feet in circumference. 
Mr, Etter's work is described in detail in the Pacific Rural Press for 
August 22 and 29 and September 5 and 19, 1908, and is very inter- 
esting. 



PART SEVEN: NUTS 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
NUT GROWING IN CALIFORNIA 

Two nuts have risen to large commercial importance in California: 
The English walnut and the almond. Other nuts than these, except 
peanuts, have never attained great acreage, although several have suc- 
ceeded and promise to become popular. 

The commercial production of almonds and walnuts in California 
during the last thirteen years has been estimated by the trade as fol- 
lows, in tons of 2,000 lbs. : 

Year Almonds Walnuts 

1895 825 2,310 

1896 1,605 4,115 

1897 2,375 3.985 

1898 450 5,660 

1899 2,320 5,530 

1900 2,740 5,430 

1901 1,560 6.910 

1902 3.270 8,520 

1903.'. 3,200 5,500 

1904 800 7,590 

1905 2.125 5,750 

1906 900 6.125 

1907 750 6,500 

1908 2.900 8,500 

1909 1.500 8,000 

1910 3,300 9.600 

1911 1,700 12,500 

The walnuts are chiefly grown in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los An- 
geles and Orange counties in southern California. The almonds are 
from interior counties in the central regions of the State. Reasons 
for the extreme fluctuations in production will be suggested by the 
discussion of each nut which will follow. 

THE ALMOND 

The almond has an interesting history in California, but it can be 
outlined in a few sentences. The importation of the best European va- 
rieties began very early, and a number of them had been planted in 
499 



500 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

1853. They proved irregular bearers, though the trees grew thriftily 
and in some cases showed fruit very soon after planting. The barren 
almond trees were largely grafted into prunes or made into firewood 
and the conclusion was reached that to secure regularity and abundance 
in fruiting, locations for almond orchards must be sought with the ut- 
most care, and that the secret of success lay in the location. After that 
local seedlings seemed to demonstrate their value in regular crops, and 
in characteristics and qualities superior to foreign kinds. Large plant- 
ing was then undertaken on the ground that the choice of soil and situ- 
ation, and the selection of trustworthy varieties, are both factors of 
success, but that possibly more lay in the choice of variety than of lo- 
cation. This belief led to wide planting in locations now seen to be 
unfitted by reason of frosts and losses were again encountered. Now 
it seems to be fully demonstrated that no matter what variety is planted 
locations for the almond must be selected with great care. It has also 
been demonstrated that association of varieties promotes pollination 
and satisfactory bearing. 

Situations and Soils for the Almond. — Almonds are now doing 
best on the higher lands in coast valleys, free from fogs and protected 
from direct winds, but subject to tempered breezes; also at various 
points in the interior valleys and foothills. The general proposition 
that low lands in small valleys should be avoided, and bench or hill- 
side situations preferred, seems to be a safe one. Lands directly upon 
the coast have not proved satisfactory. In the large interior valleys 
of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, almonds are successfully grown 
on flat valley lands but little lifted above sea level and from such plains 
the chief product comes. Why almonds are safer on the low lands of 
a great valley than of a small valley is explained by the discussion on 
page 15. 

The almond prefers a loose, light, warm soil, and heavy, poorly- 
drained soils should be avoided. Though they need moisture enough 
to make good, thrifty growth they will produce good crops on soils 
that are too light or dry to grow satisfactory peaches, apricots, nec- 
tarines, cherries, or similar pulpy fruits. The almond is, however, a 
very deep-rooting tree, and may succeed by reaching deeply for mois- 
ture rather than by denying itself, as some think. The tree certainly 
suffers and is barren from drouth in some cases. 

Propagating, Planting, and Pruning. — The almond is propa- 
gated from seedlings grown as described in Chapter VIII, and budded 
as described in Chapter IX. The almond root is preferred, though the 
peach answers well. The apricot root should be avoided. 

For planting out, trees in dormant bud are very successful if given 
proper care. Yearling trees are, on the whole, best and usually those 
which have made a moderate instead of a very large growth are to be 



ALMOND HARVESTING 501 

preferred. The almond makes a comparatively large tree and should 
have plenty of room — not less than twenty-four feet apart (though 
some plantations are made at twenty feet), and thirty feet is better. 

Old almond trees are readily worked over to other varieties by 
grafting and by budding into new shoots forced out by cutting off 
large branches. Methods with the peach described on page 282 are 
applicable to the almond. 

The pruning of the almond is very simple. The tree should be 
headed low and pruned during the first three years, as described in 
Chapter XII, to secure a shapely, strong tree. After the third year 
little pruning is required except to thin out objectionable branches by 
winter pruning. There is danger of allowing the trees to become too 
dense. Shortening in, as practiced with the peach, is sometimes pro- 
posed for the almond, for the thrift of the tree and the size of the nut, 
but growers have not had courage enough to assume the increased cost 
of production which would be involved. 

The cultivation of the almond orchard is the same as commended 
for other fruit trees, and as the trees are often planted in naturally 
dry soils, the greater care in cultivation is needed to retain sufficient 
moisture to give good size to the nuts. In certain locations, of course, 
irrigation will be necessary, but usually a light rainfall will answer if 
good cultivation is given. 

Gathering, Hulling, and Bleaching. — Almonds are gathered by 
spreading canvas under the tree and shaking the branches separately ; 
the few nuts remaining can be displaced by striking with a light stick. 
The gathering should be done after the hulls have burst open, but 
should not be delayed until the nuts are badly discolored. Discoloration 
of the nut depends upon local atmospheric conditions and is worst in 
regions subject to moist winds or fogs from the ocean, and they often 
extend considerable distances into the interior valleys. On the dry pla- 
teaux adjacent to the Mojave Desert perfectly bright almonds are pro- 
duced naturally, but at these elevations frost injuries are frequent and 
notable. 

Hulling is done with machines devised for that purpose. There 
are several in use and recently great capacity and cheapness of opera- 
tion have been attained. 

For the greater part of the almond product bleaching is appar- 
ently demanded by market requirements. Sulphur should not be ap- 
plied until the nut is thoroughly dry, or else the fumes will penetrate it, 
and not only spoil its flavor, but will destroy its germinating power. 
The nuts are dried by exposure to the sun on platforms or trays, and 
in dewy places should be covered during the night. After being well 
dried, sprinkle the nuts sufficiently to moisten the shell surface only 
and apply sulphur fumes. Various home-made contrivances are used 
for bleaching, such as piling up several of the slat-bottom trays one 



502 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Upon another, placing around them sides made of boards so as to hook 
together at the corners, cover the top with a damp canvas, and burn 
the sulphur in a hole in the ground below the bottom tray. 

Webster Treat, formerly a large grower of almonds, describes his 
sulphuring-house for almonds : 

My bleaching house is about twenty-five feet by eight feet, and I generally put 
in about four thousand pounds of almonds and expose them to sulphur fumes 
for three or four hours. The house is boarded with tongue and groove flooring, 
inside and out, and roofed with well-laid shingles, and has a flue about two feet 
high on the apex, to help draft the sulphur smoke up. The floor is of one-by- 
three-inch stuff, set up edgewise, three-eighths of an inch apart, or just wide 
enough to admit the fumes from the sulphur burning below, and narrow enough 
to prevent the nuts from falling through. The floor is about two and one-half 
feet above the ground, and the lower space is boarded up with tongue and groove 
also and fitted with small doors every five feet, so that the sulphur pans can be 
placed underneath the floor. 

Sulphur fumes are applied until the nuts are of a light yellowish 
color ; the proper shade is to be learned by securing approved samples 
from some trustworthy dealer. 

The following explicit account of handling almonds on a large 
scale is by Mr. J. P. Dargitz, of Acampo, San Joaquin county : 

"When the hulls on the nuts are loose from the shell, as will be in- 
dicated by their bursting open, it is time to begin gathering if you wish 
to hull them. If they get too dry you will have to wet them before 
hulling or you will break the shells. If you wish to shell them then, 
the drier they get the better. It will not pay to begin until the nuts 
about the crotches of the trees are ready and they will be the last to 
ripen. When they are all ready you can get all at one gathering. Have 
some sheets made of heavy unbleached sheeting or light duck or sail 
cloth. Mine for large trees are 15x30 feet, handled by two men to a 
sheet and two sheets to a tree. Spread the sheets under the tree, one on 
each side, lapping the edges where they join. Then the men take wil- 
low or bamboo poles and by jarring the limbs cause the nuts to fall 
on the sheets. Always strike the limb sideways, for if you strike a 
glancing blow down the limb, you will reduce next year's crop. The 
object is to get the huts and disturb the foliage as little as possible. 
Of course, you will get some nuts and twigs with the leaves anyway. 
When the nuts are all off the tree, the men toss their poles to the next 
tree and then gather up the sheets, one man at each end of each sheet 
and, lifting them, carry them to the next tree where the process is re- 
peated. When enough nuts are in sheets to fill several lug boxes, the 
boxes are placed on the ground side by side, and the sheets are emp- 
tied of their burden. These boxes are then stacked up so as to be 
easily seen, and the teamster gathers them up and hauls them into the 
shed where they are run through the huller and then placed in the 
hoppers ready for the hand sorting. After sorting they are placed on 
trays or board platforms in the dry-yard to cure. They should be 



POLLINIZING THE ALMOND 503 

cured until the kernel will break without bending. Then they are 
ready for bleaching; but be sure they are thoroughly cured before 
bleaching or the kernel will absorb the sulphur and be spoiled. When 
properly cured, any means may be employed which will thoroughly 
dampen the shell but not penetrate to the kernel and then be sub- 
jected to the fumes of burning sulphur for a period of 30 minutes to 
one or two hours, owing to the variety and condition of the nut. A 
yellowish-white color of the shell is demanded by the trade. Do not 
over-sulphur. When sufficiently bleached they are removed and placed 
in the sun for a few hours to dry, and then sacked up ready for the 
market. My present plan of bleaching, given me by Mr. Reed, of 
Suisun, is as follows : When cured we place nuts about one inch thick 
on fruit trays and run them into a division of the sulphur house which 
has been connected with a steam boiler (five horse-power), and low 
pressure steam (20 pounds), is turned into the house for a half 
or three-quarters of an hour. Then they are removed and quickly run 
in another division which has a sulphur charge ready fired and bleached 
from 40 minutes to an hour, when they are removed and immediately 
sacked. The same help will bleach twice as many in a day with steam 
as without it. Be careful not to use high pressure steam or you will 
cook the nuts." 

Pollination and Late Blooming. — The advantage of cross pol- 
lination lictwccn different varieties and the surer bearing of late bloom- 
ing varieties are related subjects which are worthy of close attention. 
Mr. J. P. Dargitz, whose harvesting method has just been given, has 
pointed out that, according to his observation as a rule all the paper- 
shells are deficient in pollen, and will not bear well if planted alone and 
he concludes that the only two which warrant planting in his section 
are the Nonpareil and the Ne Plus Ultra. The latter is not a very 
good nut, and needs much more moisture than the other. The Nonpa- 
reil will give good results if planted with some other variety as pol- 
lenizer. It is one of the very best of nuts and is well worth planting. 
Mr. Dargitz regards the Texas Prolific the very best pollinizer, and 
when planted in alternate double rows with the Nonpareil will cause it 
to set fruit freely in spite of the fact that the Nonpareil begins blooming 
two weeks earlier than the Texas but still has bloom to catch the Texas 
pollen when it is ready. 

This late blooming of the Texas places it in the same class for surety 
with Drake's Seedling. Both nuts are medium soft shell and small but 
are being largely chosen because of sure bearing and large product. 
As to the relative return per sack, Mr. Dargitz says : 

The Nonpareil at 14 cents per pound, the Drake Seedling at 11 cents per 
pound, and the Texas Prolific at 10 cents per pound, will each bring about $10.50 
per standard sack, the IXL at 13 cents per pound about $9 per sack, and the Ne 
Plug Ultra at 12 cents per pound about $8.50 per sack. 



504 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Varieties of the Almond. — Almonds should bear well every 
year, hull easily, have clean, thin, soft shells, and a smooth, bright, and 
plump kernel. Almonds with long, single kernels are preferred in 
general to those which have double ones. These are the characters 
which ruled in the selection of new varieties by the pioneer propagator 
of new almonds, A. T. Hatch, formerly of Suisun. In 1878 Mr. Hatch 
planted out about two thousand five hundred seedling almond trees 
grown from the bitter almond seed. He afterward budded all the seed- 
lings but about three hundred which were left to bearing age unbudded. 
The fruit of these seedlings was of all degrees of excellence. A few of 
the best of them were selected for propagation and naming, and they 
constitute the chief part of the acreage which is now bearing almonds, 
but other late bloomers and surer bearers are being preferred in cur- 
rent planting. 

Excellent seedling almonds have also been produced by other 
growers. The following list includes the sorts most widely grown : 

IXL. — Tree a sturdy, rather upright grower, with large leaves; nuts large 
with, as a rule, single kernels ; hulls easily, no machine being needed, nor is any 
bleaching necessary ; shell soft, but perfect ; largely discarded for shy bearing, 
but desirable in some places. 

Ne Plus Ultra. — Large and very long in shape; heavy and regular bearer; 
soft shell ; hull free. 

Nonpareil. — First called Extra. Of a weeping style of growth ; smaller foli- 
age than the IXL, but still forms a beautiful tree. An extraordinarily heavy 
and regular bearer, with very thin shell, of the Paper Shell t3'pe. Ripens early 
and can be gathered before other varieties are ready. 

Lewelling's Proliftc. — Originated with the late Mr. John Lewelling; "tree a 
great bearer ; of drooping habit ; nut large and good ; soft shell ; hull free." — 
Leonard Coates. 

Harriott's Seedling (or Commercial). — From Visalia, where it is a surer crop- 
per than elsewhere; shell softer than the Languedoc; nut long, of peculiar shape, 
quite large; kernel sweet. 

King's Soft 5/!c//.— Originated in San Jose; shell very thin and soft; regular 
and abundant bearer. 

Princess. — The finest of the Paper Shell class; long, oval, kernel large, white 
and sweet. 

Languedoc. — Nut large; shell thin; kernel sweet; condemned for irregular 
bearing. 

Paper Shell. — Medium size ; shell very tender, easily broken between the 
finger and thumb ; kernel large, white and sweet. 

Drake's Seedling. — Originated with Mr. Drake, of Suisun, of the Languedoc 
class ; very prolific, and a regular, abundant bearer. A late blooming variety. 

Golden State. — Originated by Webster Treat. A large soft-shell, somewhat 
longer than the Languedoc, with a full, smooth-skinned meat; parts from the 
hull readily. An early variety, but in less favor than formerly. 

Peerless. — Resembling IXL. Popular in Yolo county for regular and heavy 
bearing. 

Texas Prolific. — Brought from Texas by Robert Williamson, of W. R. Strong 
& Co., of Sacramento, about 1891, as a seedling originated at Dallas, and the 
only almond which would bear there. Planted at Acampo by Robert Adams, 



THE CHESTNUT 505 

who had charge of the company's nurseries at that place ; fully discussed by 
J. P. Dargitz, of Acampo, and described by the introducer as resembling Lan- 
guedoc in tree and nut, but with softer shell, which is filled with very sweet ker- 
nel. Blooms two weeks later than Drake. Mr. Dargitz reports fifteen years 
without failure to bear and usually prolific. 

Jordan Almond. — This long, hard-shelled almond, notable because of its long, 
slim kernel for "salted almonds" and imported at high cost for that purpose, has 
been introduced both through government distribution and private enterprise, 
notably that of the late John Rock, of the California Nursery Co., of Niles. Too 
little has yet been seen to determine the value of the variety in local production. 

THE CHESTNUT 

The chestnut is not yet produced in large amount in Cahfornia, 
and certain quantities of the nuts are annually imported, the American, 
Italian, or Spanish and Japanese all being- found in the San Francisco 
markets. Of chestnuts grown in California, the Italian predominates, 
and the Japanese is more common than the American, which is slow 
of growth and late in fruiting, as compared with the other kinds. Judg- 
ing the success of the Italian, it may be said that a large area of Cali- 
fornia is well suited for the growth of the chestnut, as there are bear- 
ing trees in nearly all parts of tlie State. The chestnut succeeds on 
heavy, clayey soil, even if it be quite rocky. 

Chestnut trees are readily grown from the seed, and thus grown 
come into bearing from six to eight years, though the Japanese some- 
times bear sooner. The growth of chestnuts from the seed is described 
in Chapter VIII. In growing from seed of the improved varieties, 
there is a tendency toward reversion, and budding and grafting may 
be resorted to ; and can be done by the methods described in the chap- 
ter on the fig. The chestnut can also be grafted with the ordinary 
cleft graft. Buds or scions should be taken from trees which are 
fruiting satisfactorily, and in this way seedlings which have a tendency 
to bear empty burs can be turned to good account. Chestnuts can be 
grown in the nursery until several years old, providing they are lifted 
at the end of the first year, the tap-root cut off, and the trees reset, 
giving them rather more room than during their first year's growth. 
In permanent plantings the trees should have plenty of room, as they 
ultimately attain great size. Trees at Grass Valley, Nevada county, 
when about twenty years old, fifteen inches in diameter of trunk, and 
forty feet high, and reported to bear a barrel of nuts to the tree regu- 
larly. Felix Gillet of Nevada City, has for many years made a speci- 
alty of propagating a large collection of the improved French varieties 
of the chestnut, known as Marrons, which were distributed to some ex- 
tent. The chestnut chiefly grown is the Italian but it has not attained 
any considerable product as yet. The chestnut, aside from its desira- 
bility as an orchard tree, can be commended as a tree for hillsides or 
a shade tree for waysides or pastures, and should be more widely 
planted in California. The chief product is in the foothill district east 
of the San Joaquin valley. 



506 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW TMEM 

THE FILBERT 

The best English cob-nuts have been quite widely tried in Califor- 
nia without successful results. Improved Spanish and French va- 
rieties of the filbert were early introduced by Felix Gillet, of Nevada 
City, and have been favorably reported by him as to growth and bear- 
ing. A few other growers in foothill situations have reported success, 
but as a rule disappointment has attended ventures with the filbert. 
The most favorable regions for farther experiment are apparently the 
north slopes of the Coast Range, and other cooler and moister situa- 
tions, as well as at an elevation on the Sierra foothills where Mr. Gil- 
let found them satisfactory. 

THE PEANUT 

During the last few years the peanut product of California has 
notably increased, and the crop is a popular one in some parts of the 
San Joaquin Valley and southern California. The nuts are consid- 
erably grown between the rows in young orchards and vineyards, as 
well as upon ground wholly given to them. The following explicit 
directions are given by R. M. Hargrave, a grower in Orange County. 
Some slight modifications in practice may be needed, according to lo- 
cality, as, for example, in time of planting, which is usually a little 
earlier than the date given : 

Planting. — The best time to plant peanuts is about the middle of May, say, 
10th to 15th, in rows about three to four feet apart and sixteen to twenty inches 
the other way, and not cover too deep — three to four inches. Peanuts planted 
the middle of May ripen evenly and are of uniform size. Very early peanuts 
ripen unevenly, and the first nuts that set on get so ripe they turn to a pink color, 
and if the land is a little sandy the stems pet soft, lose their strength, and will 
not lift the nuts from the ground. 

It takes about thirty pounds of the California or White Virginia, and fifty 
pounds of the Tennessee Reds to plant an acre. Tennessee peanuts can be planted 
much closer in the rows. The California peanut is the best to plant, as it yields 
three or four times as much as the Tennessee Reds do, and has more ready sale. 

The Quality of Land. — Peanuts require a rich sandy soil loam that is known 
as upland. Damp land gives the nuts a straw color, and they are not as good prob- 
ably as those raised on higher land. They require no irrigation, except on very 
sandy land, where some have found it profitable ; but, as a usual thing, when irri- 
gated the ground is liable to get hard, making the nuts crooked, ill-shaped, and 
many times coloring them. 

Cultivation. — Peanuts should be cultivated about the same as corn, not allow- 
ing any weeds to grow in them, keeping the "-round loose and mellow, and when 
the spikes begin to form, they should not be disturbed. If they are, it causes the 
nuts to blight or not fill out. The blooms do not require to be covered. 

Harvesting. — Peanuts should be harvested when ripe, and not allowed to 
stand too long, in hopes that the last ones set out will fill out and ripen, as you 
lose more than you gain. The little ones spoil the sale of the crop, and many are 
left in the ground that get over-ripe. Peanuts should be cut or plowed out and 
thrown into windrows, nuts down, and let lie a week or ten days, and then sacked, 
as the best nuts are cured in that way, and they do not mold so badly, and cure 



fEANUT AND PECAN 507 

a better color. They must not be allowed to ^et wet. The tops are good feed if 
stored away in a shed for winter use. All kinds of stock like them, and small 
nuts can be left on the vines. They make the best chicken feed. An average 
yield is about twenty-five to thirty sacks to the acre, forty pounds to a sack, 
but many have raised fifty sacks, with extra care and good land well adapted to 
peanuts. The price for picking is from 30 to 3Sc per grain sack holding from 
40 to 45 pounds. The nuts are cleaned in revolving drums, and followed with 
a grain fanning mill which blows out the light ones. 



THE PECAN 

The pecan, by rapid Q^rowth, early fruiting, and general thrift, 
seems to be the member of the hickory family best fitted for California 
conditions. A tree grown from a nut planted by J. R. Wolfskill, on 
Putah Creek, in 1878, was, when twenty-five years old, over fifty feet 
high, with a trunk twelve inches in diameter, growing luxuriantly and 
bearing freely. Still older trees, also very satisfactory in growth and 
bearings are to be seen at Chico and Visalia. The pecan, though grown 
for thirty years by different parties around the bay of San Francisco, 
either does not bear or keeps the nuts hanging on until sometimes they 
sprout on the tree. The wider extremes in temperature or in humidity 
in the interior seem to teach the tree better habits of growth, and rest 
and moist lowlands in the great valleys seem best for pecan planting. 
As yet, California has no marketable product of pecans but the total 
number of trees in the State is insignificant. 

Pecan trees grow readily from the nuts if these are fresh. Plant- 
ers should secure nuts of selected varieties (for there is a great differ- 
ence in size and quality) direct from growers in the southern states, 
and plant as soon as received, in the early winter, or if conditions are 
not favorable for planting, the nuts should be stored as described in 
Chapter VIII. Nuts planted in good nursery ground in rows as there 
suggested, and covered about two inches or a little deeper in dry, loose 
soil, and then mulched to retain moisture, will germinate freely. The 
trees should be transplanted to permanent place at the end of the first 
year and then usually the tap-root can be retained, as some growers 
deem very desirable ; if the trees are to be put in permanent place later 
they should be transplanted in the nursery and the tap-root cut off. 
The nuts can, of course, be planted at once in permanent place if one 
will take the extra trouble necessary to properly care for them. 



THE PISTACHIO 

The pistachio nut (Pistachia vera) was introduced a number of 
years ago but no results have been reported. The species upon its 
own root makes a low shrub and is slow of growth. We have also 
imported the Pistachia terehinthus, from which is derived the "chio 



508 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

turpentine," the stock the true pistachio is grafted upon in Europe and 
which is growing thriftily at several points in the State. The pistachio 
needs more time to declare its California career. 



THE ENGLISH OR PERSIAN WALNUT 

The nut which is signified in California when the term walnut is 
used, is the English walnut or Madeira nut (Juglans regia) and its 
many varieties. This tree makes a grand growth in California. Speci- 
mens are seen here and there, which, at about twenty years of 
age, are from fifty to sixty feet in height, with a spread of 
branches of forty to sixty feet, and in some cases bearing four to eight 
hundred pounds of nuts. Much larger and older trees can be found 
in the coast and interior valleys of central California where the nut 
was first planted, although, as has already been stated, the nut has thus 
far been produced in large quantities only in regions adjacent to the 
coast in southern California. The equable temperature and moisture 
of the southern coast seems to specially favor the nut, but it must not 
be inferred that success can only be attained in such situations. A num- 
ber of French varieties, which have been widely enough distributed to 
test their growth, have been found to thrive in many situations where 
the old Los Angeles variety is a failure, and there is at present quite 
a disposition to larger plantings of the walnut in all California val- 
leys, either as a sole occupant of the land or as border trees around 
fruit orchards. At the South the walnut area has largely increased in 
those situations where the tree shows most satisfactory bearing quali- 
ties, and newer varieties of California origin, like the Improved Soft 
Shell, constitute most of the present area. In all untried places, or in 
all places where the old Los Angeles Walnut has failed, trial should 
be made of the hardy French varieties, which will be described farther 
on. Recently considerable planting has been done in the coast and in- 
terior valleys and foothills of central California upon the quite fully 
demonstrated success of these varieties. It is, however, very desirable 
to secure satisfactory depth and retentiveness, without excess of water, 
in the soil. The walnut abhors drouth as well as standing water. 

Soils for the Walnut. — The walnut makes most rapid growth 
upon a deep, rich, moist, loamy soil, and shows its appreciation of good 
things of the earth as do other fruit trees, and yet it attains satisfactory 
size and bearing in less favorable situations. Thriving trees can be 
found in the clays and decomposed granite soils of the foothills, as well 
as in the valley silts and loams. Adequate moisture must, however, be 
had, and the walnut cannot be commended for dry, neglected places 
nor for soils which overlie leachy subsoils described on page 36. 




ROOTS FOR THE ENGLISH WALNUT 509 

Propagation. — The walnut tree grows readily from nuts treated 
as described in Chapter VIII. In the main the use of seedlings has hith- 
erto prevailed, and the nut has been looked upon as coming sufficiently 
true from seed. Recently, however, this has changed rapidly, and 
grafting to secure a high, uniform grade and to secure fruitfulness 
in spite of the blight is commanding wide attention. 

Excellent results have been obtained by using the California black 
as a stock for the English walnut, and in that case budding or grafting 
must be resorted to. Many instances of the success of the English 
walnut on our native stock might be cited, but the most notable tree 
known to the writer is to be seen on the grounds of John R. Wolfskill, 
on Putah Creek, in Solano County. He put in a bud in 1875 and the 
tree has reached immense size and large product. Since then many 
large native black walnuts have been top-grafted with the English 
walnut with notable success, not only in orchards, but along highways 
where the native black walnut has been planted for shade and orna- 
ment. 

Mr. F. S. Leib, of San Jose, who has given much attention to stocks 
for the English walnut, believes that the cross of the California black 
and the Eastern black walnuts and the California black walnut straight 
afford the best seedlings for roots for the English walnut, but advises 
close selection to secure the best growth. This is his prescription: 

"The Royal hybrid (every cross between the native Eastern black 
walnut and the native California black walnut is called a Royal hybrid), 
is, in my opinion, the most magnificent growing tree in the walnut line, 
and I believe that in the future some Royal hybrids can, by persistent 
selection, be sufficiently fixed to furnish the strongest possible roots of 
substantial unifonnity on which to graft. At present I know of only 
one tree, picked out from many hundreds, which is sufficiently fixed to 
grow a fair percentage of seedlings equal to itself. Only from one to 
two per cent of the seedlings of most Royal hybrids is equal to the 
parent, and the percentage of even the best straight California is only 
from fifteen to twenty per cent, and the poorest give less than one per 
cent. 

At present, we, by a system of sprouting, are able to eliminate 
four-fifths of the weakest growing nuts, and we plant the remaining 
fifth in the nursery. Twenty-five per cent of such remaining nuts from 
our selected trees of Royal hybrid blood, and fifteen to twenty per cent 
from our selected California trees, grow three to four feet in the first 
year. The three to four foot seedlings in the nursery are grafted when 
one year old, and the remaining smaller trees are left for another year ; 
and for this reason a small per cent make a disproportionately large 
growth of root compared to its moderate top the first year, and make 
an immense growth of top the second year. 



510 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 




Eleven Nuts on Two-Year Grafts on Three- 
Year California Root. 



All Paradox hybrids (English walnuts crossed with California black), 
make a large root and but a moderate top the first year, as do many 
seedlings from the Royal hybrid, and as do very, very few from the 
straight California. These few trees, which make good the second 
year, three or four per cent, possibly, of the trees left to grow another 
year in the nursery, are grafted at the end of the second year, and the 
balance thrown away as unworthy to be grafted and given a chance 
in orchard form ; for a tree which is to have in the orchard from six- 
teen hundred to thirty-six hundred square feet can not be too good, 
either as to root or top. 



BUDDING WALNUTS 



511 



Budding the Walnut. — In working on the native Cahfornia 
seedhng stocks, Mr. Clowes, of Stockton, buds by the common method, 
removing the wood from the inside of the plate of bark, as advised for 
the orange. Twig buds as used with the oHve are also successful, and 




Four months' growth of Walnut Grafts — J. B. Neff, Anaheim. 



ring budding works well on shoots of a year's growth, which have at 
least attained the thickness of the middle finger. Mr. Gillet advises that 
the buds should be set at the base of these shoots where the wood is 
perfectly round. The bandage should pass above and below the bud 
so that the bark under it may be pressed down close upon the stock, and 
this is more surely gained by shaving off the base of the leaf stem, 
below the bud, about to the point where it would separate when the 
leaf naturally falls off. 

Mr. A. W. Keith, of Selma, has hit upon a very interesting method 
of preparing walnut buds. In taking a fresh bud from the new growth 
of the walnut he found the large leaf stem a serious impediment in 



512 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 




Yearling seedling Black Walnuts grown on moist, subirrigated land. 



firmly placing a shield bud upon the cambium of the stock and binding 
it there. Shaving it away with a knife left too much exposed tissue. 
If the leaf stem would drop ofif as it does when mature and leave a 
healed-over scar, the result would be a flat surface with only the bud 
protruding, and this could be easily bound in place so as to exclude the 
air. He tried cutting oil the compound leaf, leaving a stub of an inch 
or so, and was delighted to find that a stub thus left became dry and 



BUDDING WALNUTS 513 

parted from the stem just as a mature leaf does in the autumn. By 
cutting off the leaves in this way about August 15, the stubs part read- 
ily before September 1, and then he takes off clean, flat buds and uses 
them just as he does in budding the peach, except that he leaves no 
wood behind the bud. He takes rather a large shield and puts it un- 
der the bark of the stock through a "T" cut, then wraps well with a 
strip of cheese cloth and waxes over the cloth with ordinary grafting 
wax. The wrapping is applied so as to cover most of the bark slit, every- 
thing beyond being waxed over. The bud is then allowed to remain 
dormant until the following spring. 

Mr. Pennington of Vacaville has been very successful in budding 
by cutting buds in the regular shield form, about 1^ inches long, cut 
from branches 5^ to ^ inch in diameter, so as to get wide buds with but 
little wood left in them. He also prefers to have stocks large, and consid- 
ers a stock \y2 inches in diameter not too large. He uses ordinary bud- 
ding twine for tying, but does not use wax to cover the incisions. He 
says it is best to put off budding as late as it is possible to get a good 
flow of sap, as then the weather is likely to be cooler, which is an im- 
portant factor, and the growing season is about finished, which will al- 
low the twine to be left in place all winter, which he considers advis- 
able. 

Buds are more apt to succeed when pushed upward from the cross- 
cut than downward from it. The cuts would then be an inverted "T." 
No preparation of the budding wood is made, except that mature buds 
are taken. About 90 per cent of the buds placed are said to grow. 

Grafting the Walnut. — Grafting into black walnut seedling root 
can also be well done by a triangular cut into the edge of the root stump, 
as described for grafting into grape-vine stumps in Chapter XXVI. In 
the case of the walnut, close binding with a wax band is desirable. 

Large walnut trees can be worked over either by budding or graft- 
ing. If by budding, the large limbs are cut back in the winter, and in 
autumn following, buds are put in, as just described, on as many of the 
new shoots as may be desired. 

In grafting, the common cleft graft is used with a degree of suc- 
cess particularly when the split is not made through the pitch, but at 
one side ; the scion should be whittled so as to show as little pith as pos- 
sible. This is done by cutting down to a point at one side and not in 
the center of the scion. Care should be taken to cover all exposed 
surfaces. 

Grafting over is desirable either for substituting a better variety of 
English walnut, or for working over a California black walnut into an 
English variety, and as much attention is now being paid to blight re- 
sistant, interest is sharpened in grafting methods. Mr. J. B. Neff, of 
Anaheim, who has looked into the subject deeply and worked over 
many old trees, gives the following practical suggestions on this work : 



514 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

If the trees are from three to five inches in diameter they may be cut off at 
about four feet above the ground and below the branches, then four or five scions 
may be placed in one stock, or three or four of the branches may be cut back to 
v.ithin 10 to 24 inches of the trunk and two to three scions placed in each. All 
the other branches should be removed from the trunk. 




Walnut grafting by modified cleft graft. 



Old trees of from 12 to 20 years should have the branches cut at places where 
thev are from three to six inches in diameter, and from five to eight stubs left, 
which will be from three to six feet in length and should have as many as six 
scions in the large stubs, the other branches being removed before the scions are 
put in place. 

In sawing large branches it is necessary to make two cuts, the first beine 
some distance above or outside the final cut, to prevent splitting the stub, or the 
trunk, when the severed part falls. 

The scions should always be of solid, mature wood, that is, with as small 
pith as can be had readily, and must have good living buds. Each scion should 
be about one-quarter inch in diameter and have at least two buds. The growth 
having buds close together is best, as shorter scions can be used. 

To receive the scions use a heavy butcher knife and mallet to split the stubs. 
placing the knife across the stub as if a chin one-half to five-eighths-inch tliick 
was to be taken off. Then depress the handle of the knife to an angle of 30 to 
45 degrees and split the edge down to 2^ to 3 inches, allowing the knife to 
reach the farther side of the stub, but not making the split entirely across the 
stub. Open the cleft with an iron wedge ^ to 5^-inch wide and thickest on one 
edge, placing the thickest edge toward the outside. 

Trim the cleft in the stub with a sharp knife so it will be smooth. Then 
cut the scion so as to fit perfectly and place it so the inner bark (the cambium 
layer) of both will be on the same line, or at least will cross twice, then remove 
the wedge and put hot wax over all the cuts on both stock and scion at once. 



GRAFTING WALNUTS 



515 



The scions should be examined frequently and any excessive flow of sap 
wiped off, and the stub re-covered with wax as soon as dry. Excessive flow of 
sap for several weeks will cause the loss of the scions, as the callus can not form 
in water. This may be controlled bv boring one-fourth inch holes in the body of 
the tree near the ground. Three or four holes four inches deep will be suffi- 
cient to control the flow of the largest trees. No damage is done to the body of 
the tree, as the holes soon grow over. 

The last two wax formulas on page 86 are largely used in walnut 
grafting. For grafting in the stems of seedlings or in the smaller 
branches of young trees a side graft as described on page 87 is suc- 
cessfully used as are also several styles of cleft grafting. One which is 




Side graft made with a saw-cut. 

Enlargement can be prevented by slitting the bark below it. 



used by Mr. R. Wiltz and others at San Jose consist in splitting a short 
stub of a small branch which has been cut about four inches from its 
attachment to a larger branch of stem. In this case the split can only 
extend to the closely knit wood in the crotch and the scion is pushed 
down strongly to the bottom of such a split and it is held tightly. The 
two pieces of the deep split are not cut away but are allowed to protect 
the short scion which is between them and if buds start on these pieces 
they are allowed to grow a little to keep the stock from dying back. 
When the scion starts well they are removed. 

A method of side grafting (so called because the stock is not cut 
across but a cleft made in the side of it) has been very successfully 
practiced by Mr. Weinshank, of Whittier, both with nursery seedlings 
and on branches of large trees. His work has shown eighty to ninety 
per cent successfuHn the nursery and even more on branches of large 
trees. The following is a condensed description of the method : 



516 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



The scion is prepared as for a whip graft (page 88), cutting a cross 
obhquely and making another cut right straight down with the grain 
in the scion. Then, instead of cutting the stock completely across like 
the scion, just simply make a little cut on the side. Do not cut into the 
pith of the wood at all. Then, place the two together by pushing the 
tongue of the scion (made by the cut on its shorter side) into the lip 
cut in the stock ; tie with a string, and wax over. The same method on 
larger trees is performed exactly in the same way, except that the lip 
of course on the larger limbs, which are three or four inches through, 
would be considerably larger, and the scion instead of being placed 
directly in the middle of the lip, or in the center, would be placed on 
the side so as to have the cambium of the scion connecting with the 
cambium on the stock at least on one side. Three or four, or sometimes 
five scions are put on a large limb, and in most cases three or four 




Split Grafting the Walnut by Mr. Geo. Payne, of Santa Clara. 



PLANTING THE WALNUT 



517 



scions would grow, x^fter the scion has reached a certain stage of 
growth, this string will commence to bind, and must be cut down right 
over where the scion is. The wax on either side will tend to hold the 
string, but as the wood naturally grows, the strings will draw apart, 
and it will not bind it as it would if the string was not cut. 

Planting Walnut Orchards. — There is much difiference in prac- 
tice in planting out walnut trees in permanent place. Some advocate 
the use of trees two or three years from the seed, getting as much of 




One-year Franquette Graft on one-year Selected 
Hybrid Root. 



the tap-root as possible ; others allow the tree to remain in nursery 
until it throws out laterals, which is usually done the fourth or fifth 
year. Two-year-old trees are generally preferred, but walnut trees of 
many times that age can be successfully transplanted if the work is 
carefully done. Walnut trees are usually set forty feet in squares, 
though some give the large-growing varieties fifty feet. Planting in 
hexagonals at forty-five feet distance gives very satisfactory results. 



518 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 




A thrifty young English Walnut. 



Some growers plant in squares at thirty feet distance, intending to re- 
move alternate trees as they crowd each other, first cutting back, for 
a time, the trees which are finally to be removed. 

Intercultures with the Walnuts. — In the southern walnut 
regions it is common to grow beans, squashes, etc., between the rows of 
trees until the latter reach' bearing age ; root crops which attract go- 
phers should be avoided. Inter-planting of smaller, early-fruiting 
trees is also practiced to a considerable extent. 

Pruning the Walnut. — The walnut is usually headed higher than 
ordinary orchard trees, but preference is now given to starting the first 
branch at about four feet from the ground instead of six feet as form- 
erly. All the pruning needed is in shaping the tree as described for 
the fig. Upward trend of the branches should be secured, sometimes 
by cutting out the shoots which grow downward, sometimes by tying 
them up for a time to the central stem until they are stiff enough to re- 
tain this position. Placing branches on the stem according to the prin- 
ciples advanced in Chapter XII, should be borne in mind. The stem 



THE WHITE SAPOTA 519 

should be protected from sunburn until the foliage accomplishes this. 
Whenever shoots are killed back by sunburn or frost, they should be 
cut off cleanly below the black mark which shows how far the injury 
has extended. If this is done, the die-back down the branch is usually 
prevented. 

Bloom and Bearing of the Walnut.— ^The walnut has its stam- 
inate and pistillate blooms separate, but both occur on the same tree. 
Successful fruiting depends upon the appearance of these two forms 
of bloom, without too great interval of time, and although there seems 
to be quite a retention of vitality, the lack of bearing of some varieties 
has been found to be due to the fact that the catkins disappear too 
long before the pistillate bloom was sufficiently developed to receive 
the pollen. 

The bearing age of the walnut depends upon the variety. Some of 
the French varieties are very precocious and have borne fruit in nurs- 
ery row at two and three years old, but the pistillate blooms were then 
fertilized from catkins growing on older trees. The practical bearing 
age of the seedling English walnut in this State may be rated at six to 
eight years, according to the variety. Trees grafted with scions from 
bearing trees fruit much sooner. 

Harvesting Walnuts. — Gathering walnuts is done in different 
ways ; some gather them from the ground at intervals during the 
months of September and October; others use poles and clean the 
trees at one operation; some go over the ground three times; first, 
picking up what have fallen ; second, picking up what have fallen and 
striking the limbs lightly to dislodge others which are ripest; third, 
picking up again and then knocktng off all that remain on the trees. 
In this way gathering lasts a month or six weeks. Walnuts, after 
gathering, are usually treated as described by F. E. Kellogg, of Santa 
Barbara County: 

As fast as gathered tlie nuts are placed in slat-bottomed trays, 6x3 feet, by 
six inches deep, about fifty pounds in a tray, being thoroughly shaken up once or 
twice a day. If the weather is very hot, they should be dried in the shade. When 
the nuts are dry they are passed through an inclined revolving grader, making 
about twelve revolutions per minute, having a one-inch mesh wire screen, and 
all that fall through this are called "seconds." The lower end of the grader 
dips into a vat of water, thoroughly wetting the nuts and washing them to a 
certain extent — entirely sufficient for paper shells and soft shells, and usually 
enough for hard shells. A system of buckets attached to the drum of the grader 
then elevates the nuts to a chute, which discharges them into a large box 4x4x8 
feet hieh. with an inclined slat bottom two and one-half feet above the ground. 
While in this box they are subjected to the fumes of sulphur for twenty to thirty 
minutes for the purpose of improving the color. The second grade walnuts are 
also put through the washing and sulphuring process. The nuts are next drawn 
off from the bleachers into the drying trays, piled one on top of the other, to 
prevent the sun from shining directly on the nuts, and remain there for ten or 
twelve hours, until the nuts are thoroughly dried of. The trays are then emp- 
tied into a hopper, from which the nuts are drawn off into bags containing 
something over one hundred pounds each ; the bags are securely sewed up and 
stamped with the producer's brand, and the nuts are ready for shipment. 



520 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Col. A. S. Heath, of Carpinteria, uses a moist bleach and a drier 
afterward, as follows : 

When the nuts leave the rotary washer they are entirely free of hulls and 
clean. They are taken to the bleaching boxes, and here subjected to the very 
minimum amount of sulphur necessary, and cold steam, being in the bleachers 
about one hour. From the bleachers they are taken to the steam drier. In the 
drier are 100 drawers, each capable of holding 40 to 50 pounds of walnuts. These 
drawers have wire bottoms to allow the heat to pass through them. In the 
basement beneath the drier Mr. Heath has some modern furnaces constructed, 
and during the course of the drying about 130 degrees of heat is maintained. 
The nuts are kept under this heat for eight hours. During the drying it is possi- 
ble to watch the progress by pulling out drawers for inspection. 

Dipping Instead of Sulphuring. — Sulphuring often injures the 
flavor of the kernel and dipping is coming into wide use. The follow- 
ing formula has been furnished to growers by the University Experi- 
ment Station : 

Six pounds of bleaching powder (also called chloride of lime), twelve pounds 
sal-soda, fifty gallons of water. Dissolve the bleaching powder in about four 
gallons of water, stirring till dissolved. Dissolve the sal-soda in about four 
gallons of water. Add one solution to the other and stir well ; let the carbonate 
of lime settle to the bottom and draw off the clear liquor and add water to make 
a total of fifty gallons. Put the nuts in large dripping box or lath crate, im- 
merse in the fluid, and then add one and one-fourth pounds of fifty per cent sul- 
phuric acid and agitate by raising and lowering the dipping box. The bleach 
should be reached in five to ten seconds, and the nuts are then washed in clear 
water and put out to dry. Of course to employ this process cheaply, specially 
contrived dipping appliances are used. The same liquor can be used with 
new batches of nuts so long as the proper effect is produced, and small additions 
of acid will prolong the efficiency of the liquor. 

Since the foregoing method was published, certain California courts 
have decided that the process is co-^iered by a patent previously issued 
and controlled by the Anderson-Barngrover Co., of San Jose, who 
demand a royalty for its use. The walnut growers employed Prof. 
Stabler of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, to 
devise a new process in the public interest. His early results indicate 
that by running an electric current through a four per cent solution of 
common salt (four pounds of salt to one hundred pounds of water) 
the chlorine is set free from the soda and becomes available for bleach- 
ing. It is possible also that the electric current may exert bleaching 
action of its own. 

Varieties of the Walnut. — Of walnuts of California origin there 
are two classes, which are called "hard" and "soft" shell, but the ac- 
cepted commercial product is largely composed of the soft-shell class. 
Several varieties of French walnuts are now being widely distributed 
An attempt will be made to give some of the distinctive points of each 
variety mentioned : 

Common English Walnut; Los Angeles Nut. etc. — This is the ordinary Eng- 
lish walnut of commerce. It was planted at an early day in Los Angeles county, 
but is now largely replaced by the Improved Soft Shell. 



VARIETIES OF ENGLISH WALNUTS 521 

Santa Barbara Soft Shell: Sexton's Soft Shell. — Originated by Joseph Sex- 
ton, who gives this account of its origin and characteristics: "The winter of 1867 
I bought in San Francisco a large sack of English walnuts. I raised about one 
thousand trees that season, and planted two hundred of them the following 
spring, in orchard form, at Goleta. Sixty of them proved to be the soft-shell 
variety. The soft shell is a little later in starting in the spring than the com- 
mon nut, and blooms about ten days later. It commences to fruit at six years 
old from the seed, and some have been known to fruit as young as the fourth 
year. The hard shell commences to fruit about the ninth year, and bears full 
crops alternate years. The soft shell is not as strong a grower as the other 
walnut; it being so prolific, retards its growth. It is a superior nut; the kernel 
is white. The shell is thin, rendering them easily broken by the hand, at the 
same time strong enough to bear transportation to any part of the United 
States." 

Ford's Imt^roved Soft Shell. — G. W. Ford, of Santa Ana, propagated an "Im- 
proved Soft Shell," gained by selection from the variety of Joseph Sexton, which 
has been largely planted. 

Santa Rosa. — A seedling by Luther Burbank, which has been distributed 
quite widely ; but by variation in its seedling, its character is somewhat ill-de- 
fined and the name is applied to several types, some of which are less desirable 
than the one receiving the name. 

Proeparturiens. — Introduced in California in 1871, by the late Felix Gillet, 
of Nevada City, and afterward by other parties, and widely distributed. Its 
chief characteristic, as its name indicates, is early bearing. It blooms from two 
to four weeks later than the common Los Angeles seedling; it shows both kinds 
of bloom simultaneously, and has the characteristics of ripening its wood well, 
and is a good nut, but it has been little planted recently because of its disposition 
to run to small sizes. 

Mayettc. — This variety chiefly constitutes the imported Grenoble walnuts. It 
is large, roundish, with a broad base, on which the nut will sit up ; shell thin and 
white; kernel full and rich; a good bearer and late bloomer; local Mayette 
seedlings are being named ; one is the "San Jose," by R. Wiltz, of San Jose — a 
fine nut, believed to be blight resistant. 

Concord — Seedling of Cluster : of the Mayette type, grown by Messrs. West- 
gate and Hutchinson of Concord from seedling tree by Felix Gillet. Introduced 
by Mr. Leonard Coates in 1908. Claimed to be blight resistant. 

Franquette. — This French variety has risen to great favor and has been 
largely planted upon the successful experience of Mrs. Emily M. Vrooman, of 
Santa Rosa, and the extensive effort at its distribution by the Oregon Nursery 
Co., of Salem, Ore. It is a large, elongate-oval nut with shell rather thick and 
kernel of high quality. It is a late bloomer, and escapes blight to a certain 
extent. 

Bijou Seedlings.—Scveral of these are being grown. Willson's Wonder, in- 
troduced by F. C. Willson, of Santa Clara, is a large, smooth, desirable nut, and 
the tree 's reported an early and prolific bearer. 

Other French Varieties.— Other French varieties introduced by Mr. Gillet 
and others include the following : The Cluster, which fruits, as its name indi- 
cates, in long bunches, sometimes as many as fifteen in a bunch ; otherwise the 
tree resembles the common English walnut. The Parisienne is a beautiful 
variety, the nut large, broad, and shapely ; the tree blooms very late. All the 
foregoing varieties and the Franquette, Serotina, Barthere, Mesange, Gant and 
Chaberte. were introduced by Mr. Gillet in 1871. 

Ka^haci. — A variety called Kaghazi was grown and propagated for several 
years by the late James Shinn, of Niles, who described it as follows : "Very 
much larger than the ordinary kinds, and thinner shelled. The tree is late in 
putting out leaves and blossoms, and is, therefore, especially good for places 
that are in danger of late frosts." 

Japanese Walnut; Juglans Sicboldiana. — This species, native of the north of 
^apan, was introduced to California about 1860, and a tree grown from seed 



522 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

planted about that time is growing at the Tower House, in Shasta county. 
Recently the good points of the tree have been more widely recognized. The 
following excellent description is by Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa : "This 
species is found growing wild in the mountains of northern Japan, and is, 
without doubt, as hardy as an oak. The leaves are of immense size, and a 
charming shade of green. The nuts, which are produced in extreme abundance, 
grow in clusters of fifteen or twenty, have a shell thicker than the English 
walnut, but not as thick as the black walnut, very much resembling pecan nuts. 
The meat is sweet, of the very best quality, flavor like butternut, but less oily, 
and much superior. The trees grow with great vigor, assume a very handsome 
form, need no pruning, mature early, bear young, and are more regular and 
productive than the English walnut." The nut has an exceedingly hard shell and 
does not rate commercially with the popular varieties of the English walnut. 



NEW CALIFORNIA VARIETIES 

Since the walnut blight invaded the commercial orchards and re- 
sisted all remedies tried against it, great interest has arisen in particu- 
lar trees which bore well in spite of the disease. As California has such 
a large acreage of seedling trees there was a full opportunity for the 
full manifestation of such resistance and a wide field in which to ex- 
ercise the art of selection. The result is that many trees were found 
which were profitable even when the blight is worst, and such trees 
are being given distinct varietal names. The progress of this work 
should be watched in the publications of the University Experiment 
Station at Berkeley, for the experts at its branch laboratory and trial 
grounds in the walnut region of southern California, at Whittier, Los 
Angeles county, are largely engaged in this work. Individual growers 
are alert at selection within their own orchards and the prospect is 
that a general escape from the blight and the establishment in our local 
pomology of a group of especially desirable varieties will ere long l)e 
attained. 



PART EIGHT: FRUIT PRESERVATION 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

FRUIT CANNING, CRYSTALLIZING, AND DRYING 

The preservation of fruit in various ways for home use and distant 
shipment, is one of the leading industries of CaUfornia, employing a 
large amount of capital and labor, and distributing a vast amount of 
money among our people. These facts can be best emphasized by 
statements of the product of 1910, in the leading methods of preserva- 
tion, by canning and drying: 

Canned Fruit Product of 1910. 

Cases. 

Tabic fruits, 2j^-lb. cans, 24 per case 3,242,942 

Pie fruits, 1-gal. cans, 12 per case 765,607 

Total, 113,631,512 2^M1). cans, or 4,008,549 

The relative use of different fruits i? as follows : 



Cases. 

Apples 76,830 

Apricots 774,160 

Cherries, black 19,620 

Cherries, white 136,290 

Figs 1,000 

Grapes 45,645 

Nectarines 1,000 

Pears 619,356 

Peaches, freestone 748,825 

Peaches, clingstone 1,396,625 

Plums 80,360 

Quinces 65 

Strawberries 14,073 

Raspberries 10,126 

Blackberries 62,025 

Loganberries 12,639 

Currants 150 

Gooseberries 75 

Miscellaneous 1,400 

523 



524 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM' 

THE CANNING INDUSTRY 

California stands first in the United States in the vakie of canned 
and dried fruits produced and in the amount of money as wages paid 
for labor in fruit canning and curing establishments. In point of cap- 
ital invested therein California is credited by the United States census 
office in 1905 with a total of ten and one quarter million dollars ; thus 
standing second only to New York, which has ten and one-half mil- 
lions. The style and capacity of the establishments is characteristically 
Californian, because California's ten millions are invested in 184 con- 
cerns, while New York has 565 concerns ; only a quarter of a million 
more value in three times as many outfits. 

Fruit canning began in California about fifty years ago, but during 
the last three decades has attained its greatness, and is still promis- 
ing much wider extension. The process is simple, and yet is attended at 
every point, from the purchase of the fruit, to the sale of the product, 
with operations which require experience, wisdom and good judgment. 
It will be obviously impossible to give in print a guide to the pursuit 
of such an industry. The principles involved in the process of com- 
mercial canning are, of course, the same as rule in the old kitchen 
processes, but to secure uniformity and cheapness of product a vast 
number of manipulations and labor ; saving appliances have been 
devised. These begin with the manufacture of cans and attend the 
product to the end, and the realization of the commercial and uniform 
production which they assure involves the employment of large capital 
and the keenest business ability. The canning interest has, therefore, 
segregated itself more and more widely from the growing interest. 
Orchard canning on a small scale, which was once thought feasible, 
has passed out of sight except as it is seen to lie in the foundations of 
a few of the smaller canneries which have been built upon it. It seems 
clear now that as a rule the fruit grower's duty to the canning interest 
ceases with the production of acceptable fruit unless individuals or 
associations can command capital enough to enter the field on equal 
vantage with the large commercial canneries. Capital is flowing to- 
ward the business ; the field for the product seems to be constantly ex- 
panding, and canning centers are multiplying throughout the State 
wherever ample supplies of good fruits and vegetables are available. 

Varieties for Canning. — The table previously given showmg the 
fruits which enter in various amounts into the canned product gives 
a general idea of what fruits should be planted to minister to the can- 
ner's demand. As to varieties, it is not easy to make a general pre- 
scription, because the choice dififers somewhat with diflferent localities. 
It is a good idea for the new planter to consult with owners of adja- 
cent bearing orchards and to secure from the nearest canneries lists 
of varieties which are acceptable to them. 



CANDIED OR GLACE FRUITS S2S 

CRYSTALLIZED FRUITS 

Progress is being continually made in the production of candied, 
crystallized, or glace fruits, but the product is not a large one. Special 
establishments are now doing this work in Los Angeles, San Jose and 
San Francisco. They have processes which are the result of consid- 
erable experimentation, and they do not make them public. To others 
the way lies open to similar experimentation. The general theory and 
an outline of practice as given by J. J. Pratt, an experienced processor, 
is as follows : 

The theory is to extract the juice from the fruit, and replace it with sugar 
syrup, which, upon hardening, preserves the fruit from decay, and at the same 
time retains the natural shape of the fruit. All kinds of fruit are capable of 
being preserved under this process. Though the method is very simple, there is 
a certain skill required that is acquired only by practice. The several successive 
steps in the process are about as follows : 

First, the same care in selecting and grading the fruit should be taken as 
for canning; that is, the fruit should all be of one size, and as near the same 
ripeness as possible. The exact degree of ripeness is of great importance, 
which is at that stage when fruit is best for canning; peaches, pears, etc., are 
oared and cut in halves, as for canning; plums, cherries, etc., are pitted. The 
fruit, having thus been carefully prepared, is put into a basket, or a bucket 
with a perforated bottom, and immersed in boiling water. The object of this 
is to dilute and extract the juice of the fruit. The length of time the fruit 
is immersed is the most important part of the process. If left too long, it is 
overcooked, and becomes soft ; if not immersed long enough, the juice is not 
sufficiently extracted, which prevents a perfect absorption of the sugar. 

After the fruit has been thus scalded and allowed to cool, it can again be 
assorted as to softness. The next step is the syrup, which is made of white 
sugar and water. The softer the fruit, the heavier the syrup required. Ordi- 
narily about seventy degree, Ballings' saccharometer, is about the proper weight 
for the syrup. 

The fruit is then placed in earthen pans, and covered with the syrup, where 
it is left to remain about a week. The sugar enters the fruit and displaces 
what juice remained after the scalding process. 

The fruit now requires careful watching, as fermentation will soon take 
place, and when this has reached a certain stage, the fruit and syrup are heated 
to a boiling degree, which checks the fermentation. This heating process should 
be repeated as often as necessary for about six weeks. 

The fruit is then taken out of the syrup, and washed in clean water, and 
it is then ready to be either glaced or crystallized, as the operator may wish. 
If glaced, the fruit is dipped in thick sugar syrup and left to harden quickly in 
the open air. If it is to be crystallized, dip in the same kind of syrup, but 
allow to cool and harden slowly, thus causing the sugar which covers the fruit 
to crystallize. The fruit is now ready for boxing and shipping. Fruit thus 
prepared will keep in any climate and stand transportation. 

Thus far the crystallized fruit produced in California has sold well. 
There is a considerable importation of French fruit to the United 
States, which may be displaced by the California product, and the busi- 
ness commends itself to those who have ingenuity, patience, and capital 
enough to enable them to experiment and wait for future success. The 
California producer has the advantage of an abundance of very fine 
fruit at a low price, but he carries a handicap in the high cost of trans- 
portation and of labor. 



526 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

CALIFORNIA DRIED FRUIT INDUSTRY 

A special census of the fruit-preserving manufactures of the United 
States in 1905 shows not only that California stands first in the dried 
fruit industry, hut that the product (excluding- raisins) was in that 
year valued at about fourteen, million dollars and was over eighty-eight 
per cent of the whole national product. An adjacent tabulation com- 
piled from the records of the California State Board of Trade gives 
interesting details of this product for a number of years. 

As suggested on page 21 it is the function of the sunshine and dry 
air of California not only to bring vigorous growth to the tree and 
vine and carry the fruit of both to fullness of size, beauty and quality, 
but to continue its beneficent action until the fruit, which is not re- 
quired by the trade in fresh ripeness, is given imperishable form, in 
which its beauty, flavors, aromas and nutritive qualities remain avail- 
able to delight and nourish mankind until the following year's sunshine 
wins from the earth another supply of fresh ripeness. There are many 
parts of the earth where good fruit is grown : there are few where con- 
ditions producing such fruit continue to accomplish its preservation, 
as they do in California, and this climatic endowment of the State 
yields an annual income of something like twenty millions of dollars, 
as the years run. 

Product of California Cured Fruits in Tons— 1900-1910. 



Year 


Peaches 


Apricots 


Apples 


Pears 


Plums 


Nec- 


Grapes 


Figs 


Prunes 


Raisins 














tarines 








1900 


17,170 


14,000 


3,150 


7,275 


1,950 


435 


240 


2,000 


87,000 


47,167 


1901 


14,755 


7,776 


3,225 


3,290 


1,725 


317 


180 


3,260 


40,000 


37,125 


1902 


25,210 


18,762 


4,875 


2,625 


1,280 


455 


188 


3,625 


98,500 


54,375 


1903 


16,075 


10,500 


1,800 


2,325 


1,435 


317 


205 


3,000 


82,500 


60,000 


1904 


11,500 


8,500 


1 500 


1,750 


1,150 


210 


170 


2,850 


67,500 


37,500 


1905 


17,500 


19,250 


3,250 


1,750 


930 


185 


193 


3,625 


37,500 


43,750 


1906 


11,250 


3,250 


2,750 


3,500 


1,100 


170 


200 


3,375 


90,000 


47,500 


1907 


12,000 


1,500 


1,500 


500 


750 


137 


188 


3,000 


40,000 


60,000 


1908 


22,500 


19,000 


3,000 


1,200 


1,000 


350 


1,500 


3,000 


25,000 


60,000 


1909 


20,000 


14,500 


2,500 


1,200 


500 


375 


325 


3,500 


77,500 


70,000 


1910 


25,000 


16,000 


3,100 


1,000 


375 


250 


350 


3,775 


45,000 


56,000 


Averages 


16,796 


12,000 


2,755 


2,547 


1,257 


295 


399 


3,126 


66,772 


51,856 



In connection with this notable factor of our horticultural endow- 
ment, certain facts of its utilization and its significance should be 
clearly understood not only by those who actually employ it in their 
business, but by those who desire to properly appreciate the industrial 
resources of the State. 

First. Cured fruits in California are a primary and not a second- 
ary or by-product. It is true, of course, that curing fruit does, to a 
limited extent, save from loss fruit which shippers and canners are not 



CURED FRUIT NOT A BY-PRODUCT 527 

at the time paying profitable prices for, and it is true also that the 
recourse to curing frees growers from helpless dependence upon fresh 
fruit buyers. But this does not mean that curing is a way of getting 
something from refuse fruit, not suited for other purposes. It should 
be taken as evidence that, for the most part, grades of fruit which are 
cured are the same which are also available for higher uses when prices 
are right. It is very important in many ways to have it clearly under- 
stood that, except to an insignificant extent, California fruit drying is 
not undertaken to save wastes or to get something from fruit which is 
not suited to higher uses. 

Second. As our cured fruits are a primary and not a by-product, 
it becomes intelligible why such free investment is made in acres of 
well-made trays ; in tramways and turntables for their movement from 
the shelter of convenient cutting or dipping and spreading houses ; in 
capacious apartments and mechanical devises for giving the cut fruit 
its bath in sulphur fumes to preserve natural colors and to prevent 
fermentation and insect invasion ; in the carefully prepared drying 
floors ; in well-fitted packing houses. Such investment has reached 
millions of dollars in the aggregate, and the standing of cured fruits 
as primary products is the justification of such outlay. 

Third. The provision of such equipment is not alone evidence 
of the standing of the industry; it constitutes an obligation upon 
producers to put out a product which shall be true to its opportunity 
as a primary product, and not merely a makeshift to prevent loss or 
waste. Thirty years ago California dried fruit was a makeshift, and 
a disgracefully poor one. As enterprise and investment proceeded 
it was soon seen that style and quality alone could requite them. 
Next it was discerned that fruit for curing, to command profitable 
prices, must be as good as fruit for any other high purpose, as has 
been suggested. It was then believed that to secure handsome cured 
fruit which should only be relieved of its excess of water and still 
retain color, flavor and winning beauty, could only be produced in 
machine-evaporators with artificial heat, and a few years were given 
to invention, purchase and rejection of all such devices except as 
occasional refuges when the California climate forgets itself. When 
the demonstration came that with proper pre-treatment California 
sunshine and dry air would produce notably fine evaporated fruits 
without houses and furnaces, cured fruits entered upon their career 
as primary products, and planting to produce them began. 

Fourth. The obligations upon producers, to make their output 
worthy of such standing, extended to the whole process of growing 
and curing. The fruit must be well grown, and fruit for curing 
should have size and quality which make it first class for other pur- 
poses, with the added excellence of being somewhat more mature, 
because it is not required to stand hauling and shipment. It should, 



528 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

however, be carefully handled to escape bruising, because discolora- 
tions are blemishes. It must be cleanly cut for removal of pit or 
core, because trimness. neatness and shapeliness are all essential to 
beauty. Before it reaches exposure to the protecting fumes of sulphur, 
it must be often saved from darkening by handling in water, when 
the nature of the fruit is such as to require it. It must be carefully 
and evenly spread upon the trays, especially if it be a cut fruit, so that 
no interference can prevent each piece from reaching its best estate. 
Sulphuring must be adequate, and yet not excessive, for sulphuring 
is a protecting and not a resurrecting process ; it is not to improve 
bad fruit, but to keep good fruit from becoming bad. The fruit must 
be sufficiently dried and yet not over-dried, and during the process 
must be protected from dust by the situation and character of the 
ground used, even if such protection costs trouble and outlay. 

Although the sun drying of fruit may be a simple process, so many 
little arts, methods and appliances are continually being introduced 
to facilitate work or improve the product, that one can learn much by 
visiting the different fruit regions during the drying season. Such 
a course is commended to growers who contemplate large drying 
operations, for suggestions of great economic importance can be se- 
cured. The notes of practice which can be given in this connection 
must be brief and greneral. 



=S 



Cross-sections of drying trays. 

Trays for Drying. — The greater part of the fruit, including 
raisins, is placed upon trays for exposure to the sun. There is great 
variation in the size of the trays. The common small tray is made 
of one-half inch sugar-pine lumber two feet wide and three feet long, 
the boards forming it being held together by nailing to a cleat on 
each end, one by one and a quarter inches, and a lath or narrow 
piece of half-inch stuff is nailed over the ends of the boards, thus 
stiffening the tray and aiding to prevent warping. A cross-section 
of such a tray is shown at A. 

A large tray which is used by some growers is four feet square, 
and is made of slats three-eighths of an inch thick, and one and a 
half inches wide, the slats being nailed to three cross slats three- 
eighths of an inch thick and three inches wide, and the ends nailed 
to a narrow strip one-half inch thick by three-quarters of an inch 
wide on the other side. A cross-section of this tray is shown at B. 



ARRANGEMENTS FOR FRUIT DRYING 529 

Since large drying yards have been supplied with tramways and 
trucks for moving the fruit instead of hand carriage, larger trays, 
three feet by six or three feet by eight, have been largely employed. 
These tramways lead from the cutting sheds to the sulphur boxes 
and thence to various parts of the large drying grounds, making it 
possible to handle large amounts of fruit at a minimum cost. 

Protecting Fruit from Dew. — In the interior there are seldom 
any deposit of dew in the drying season, but occasionally there are 
early rains before the drying season is over. The fruit is then pro- 
tected by piling the trays one upon another, in which operation the thick 
cleats serve a good purpose. In dewy regions the trays are piled at 
night, or cloth or paper is sometimes stretched over the fruit, thus 
reducing the discoloration resulting from deposits of* moisture upon 
it. 

Drying Floors. — For the most part the trays are laid directly on 
the ground, but sometimes a staging of posts and rails is built to 
support them, about twenty inches from the ground. The drying 
trays are sometimes distributed through the orchard or vineyard, 
thus drying the fruit with as little carrying as possible. Others 
clear off a large space outside the plantation and spread the trays 
where full sunshine can be obtained. Drying spaces should be 
selected at a distance from traveled roads, to prevent the deposit of 
dust on the fruit. 

Spaces used for drying are often idle the rest of the year and are 
weed-covered and unsightly during the rainy season, or are culti- 
vated for grain-hay which loosens the surface and deepens the dust. 
When one has water for irrigation it is often practicable to reduce 
dust and secure an amount of desirable feed or hay by putting the 
piece down in alfalfa. Mr. P. F. Gannon of Yolo county proceeded 
in this way. He lowered the tramway tracks to the ground level, 
and turned up a furrow on the sides to hold the water from flooding 
the adjacent ground. In the fall, after the fruit-drying was over, 
he flooded the space, which is a little over half an acre (125 by 225 
feet). Then it was disked both ways and leveled and harrowed 
and planted to alfalfa before the rains. The land was moist at the 
time and the seed came up and the plants grew more or less through 
the winter. In April he cut the first crop. Just before the space 
is needed for a drying yard, make another cutting, about June 20, 
cutting it down close and raking it clean. The yard is then ready 
for the trays and fruit. When the drying season is over the yard 
is cleared, and the space then is as clean as a clay floor, from being 
used so much. In three weeks the top of the ground is green all 
over, and before the rains come there is another cutting crop, making 
three crops a year, a ton at each cutting. So something is made from 



530 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 

the space and the dust problem is solved, which means clean fruit and 
better prices. 

Grading. — It is of great advantage in drying to have all the fruit 
on a tray of approximately the same size, and grading before cutting 
is advisable. Machines are now made which accomplish this very 
cheaply and quickly.* 

Cutting-Sheds. — Shelter of some kind is always provided for the 
fruit-cutters. Sometimes it is only a temporary bower made of poles 
and beams upon which tree branches are spread as a thatch ; sometimes 
open-side sheds with boarded roof, and sometimes a finished fruit- 
house is built, two stories high, the lower story opening with large 
doors on the north side, and with a large loft above, where the dried 
fruit can be sweated, packed, and stored for sale. The climate is such 
that almost any shelter which suits the taste and purse of the pro- 
ducer will answer the purpose. 

Sulphuring. — The regulations promulgated under the pure food 
law enacted by Congress in 1906 established an arbitrary limit to 
the percentage of sulphur compounds in evaporated fruits, which 
was shown by producers to be destructive to their industry, and 
otherwise unwarranted and unreasonable. As a result of their pro- 
test the enforcement of such regulations was indefinitely postponed, 
pending the results of scientific investigation which began in 1908. 

From the point of view of the California producer it must be held 
that before the employment of the sulphur process, California cured 
fruits were suitable only to the lowest culinary uses. They were of 
undesirable color, devoid of natural flavor, offensive by content of 
insect life. They had no value which would induce production and 
discernible future. Placing the trays of freshly cut fruit in boxes 
or small "houses," with the fumes of burning sulphur, made it possible 
to preserve its natural color and flavor during the evaporation of its 
surplus moisture in the clear sunshine and dry air of the California 
summer. It also prevented souring, which with some fruits is other- 
wise not preventable in such open air drying, and it protected the 
fruit from insect attack during the drying process. By the use of 
sulphur and by no other agency has it been possible to lift the pro- 
duction of cured fruits of certain kinds from a low-value haphazard 
by-product to a primary product for which Californians have planted 
orchards, constructed packing houses and made a name in the world's 
markets. 

The action of sulphuring is not alone to protect the fruit, it 
facilitates evaporation so that about one-half less time is required there- 
for. Not the least important bearing of this fact is the feasilibity of 
curing fruits in larger pieces. The grand half-peaches, half-apricots^ 

* See under "plums and prunes," page 536. 




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532 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

half-pears of the CaHfornia cured fruits are the direct result of the 
sulphur process. Without it the fruit must be cut into small sections 
or ribbons, which in cooking break down into an uninviting mass, 
while, with the sulphuring, it is ordinary practice to produce the 
splendid halves with their natural color so preserved that they lie in 
cut glass dishes in suggestive semblance to the finest product of the 
canners. and are secured at a fraction of the cost. 

There are various contrivances for the application of sulphur 
fumes to the freshly-cut fruit. Some are small for hand carriage 
of trays ; some are large and the trays are wheeled into them upon 
trucks. The most common is a bottomless cabinet about five or six 
feet high, of a width equal to the length of the tray and a depth a 
little more than the width of the tray. The cabinet has a door the 
whole width of one side, and on the sides within cleats are nailed 
so that the trays of fruit slip in like drawers into a bureau. Some 
push in the trays so that the bottom one leaves a little space at the 
back, the next a little space at the front, and so on, that the fumes 
may be forced by the draft to pass between the trays back and 
forward. The essentials seem to be open holes or dampers in the 
bottom and top of the cabinet so that the fumes from the sulphur 
burning at the bottom may be thoroughly distributed through the 
interior, and then all openings are tightly closed. To secure a tight 
chamber the door has its edge felted and the cabinet is made of 
matched lumber. The sulphur is usually put on a shovel or iron 
pot, and it is ignited by a hot coal, or a hot iron, or it is thrown on 
paper of which the edges are set on fire, or a little alcohol is put on 
the sulphur and lighted, etc. The sulphur is usually burned in a pit 
in the ground under the cabinet. The application of sulphur must 
be watchfully and carefully made, and the exposure of the fruit 
should only be long enough to accomplish the end desired. The 
exposure required dififers with different fruits, and with the same 
fruits in different conditions, as must be learned by experience. 

Grading and Cleaning. — After the fruit is sufficiently dried.(and 
it is impossible to describe how this point may be recognized except 
by the experienced touch), it is gathered from the trays into large 
boxes and taken to the fruit house. Some growers put it into a 
revolving drum of punctured sheet iron, which rubs the pieces 
together and separates it from dust, etc., which falls out through 
the apertures as the drum revolves. Others empty the fruit upon a 
large wire-cloth table and pick it over, grading it according to size 
and color, and at the same time the dust and small particles of foreign 
matter fall through the wire cloth. The fanning mill for cleaning 
grain may also be used for rapid separation of dirt, leaves, etc., with 
proper arrangement of metal screens. 



DIPPING AND PACKING 533 

Sweating. — All fruit, if stored in mass after drying, becomes 
moist. This action should take place before packing. To facilitate 
it, the fruit is put in piles on the floor of the fruit-house and turned 
occasionally with a scoop shovel ; or, if allowed to sweat in boxes, the 
fruit is occasionally poured from one box to another. The sweating 
equalizes the moisture throughout the mass. Some large producers 
have sweat-rooms with tight walls, which preserve an even temper- 
ature. No fruit should be packed before "going through the sweat." 
If this is not done, discoloration and injury will result. 

Dipping Before Packing. — All fruits except prunes can be 
packed in good condition with out dipping, provided the fruit is not 
over-dried. Efforts should be made to take up the fruit when it is 
just suflficiently cured to prevent subsequent fermentation. If taken 
from the trays in the heat of the day and covered so that the fruit 
moth can not reach it there is little danger of worms. The high- 
est grades of fruit are made in this way. If. however, the fruit has 
been overdried or neglected, it can be dipped in boiling water to kill 
eggs of vermin and to make the fruit a little more pliable for the 
press. The dipping should be done quickly, and the fruit allowed to 
drain and then lie in a dark room, carefully covered, for twenty-four 
hours before packing. 

Packing. — To open well, packages of dried fruit should be 
"faced." The many fine arts of paper lining, etc., must be learned 
by observation. Flatten some fair specimens of the fruit to be packed 
(and reference is especially made to such fruits as apricots, peaches 
and nectarines) by running them through a clothes wringer or similar 
pair of rollers set to flatten but not crush the fruit. Do not face with 
better fruit than the package is to contain. It is a fraud which will 
not in the end be profitable. Lay the flattened fruit (cup side down) 
neatly in the bottom of the box. Fill the box until it reaches the 
amount the box is to contain, and then apply the press until the 
bottom can be nailed on. Invert the box and put on the label or brand ; 
the bottom then becomes the top. 

Many different kinds of boxes are used. A very good size is 
made of seasoned pine, six inches deep by nine inches wide by fifteen 
inches long, inside measurements, and it will hold twenty-five pounds 
of fruit. 

METHODS WITH DIFFERENT FRUITS 

As already intimated, it will be impossible to enter minutely into 
the operations of drying and packing on a commercial scale, or even 
to notice all the small and ingenious arts by which the work is facil- 
itated. Any one who contemplates production on a large scale should 
personally visit leading regions and inform himself by inquiry and 



534 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

observation. Such an education will save mistakes, which may cost 
many times more than the expense of getting it. California producers 
are usually quite willing to show visitors the methods they employ. 
Though this is the better way of proceeding, a few general hints will 
be given of methods with different fruits. 

Apples. — There seems little use of drying apples unless a very 
light-colored, handsome product can be turned out. This can be done 
by sulphuring as soon as cut, and sun drying in a dry region, or by 
the use of a machine evaporator in regions of greater atmospheric 
humidity. Recently the product has largely increased in such large 
producing regions as the Pajaro valley, and new labor saving devices 
are being continually introduced. 

Apricots. — Apricots for drying should be fully ripe but not soft 
enough to be mushy. By the use of sulphur and sun heat, an amber- 
colored, semi-translucent fruit is obtained. The prevailing method 
of gathering is to shake down the fruit upon sheets, but the best product 
is hand picked. Pit the fruit by a clean cut completely around in the 
suture ; do not cut part way round and then tear apart — a clean-cut 
edge is essential. Put on the trays with the skin down, or with the 
cut up, as it is sometimes described ; sulphur, and then put in the sun. 
About three days of interior valley sunshine will finish the apricots. 
Apricots will yield on the average one pound of dried fruit to five 
pounds of fresh. 

Berries and Cherries. — These fruits are only dried in the sun 
in small quantities for local sale, and ordinary farm-house methods are 
employed. 

Figs.* — The fruit may be carefully picked from the tree so as to 
secure the whole of the stem, when the fruit is fully ripe, as is known 
by the seaming or slight shriveling of the skin. In drying the common 
black fig from large trees, however, the fruit is generally gathered 
from the ground, which is cleaned and smoothed before the crop ripens. 
In drying black figs the fruit is placed on trays and in most cases 
exposed to the sun, but some foothill growers maintain the advantage 
of drying in the shade. The figs should not be allowed to dry hard. 
When sufficiently cured, put in sweat-boxes for several days, and when 
ready to pack dip in boiling salt water, or, as is the practice of some 
producers, dip in a thin syrup, boiling hot. In either method a good 
pliable condition and handsome color are obtained. In drying white 
figs many sulphur the fruit from fifteen minutes to an hour before 
putting out on the trays. Figs which dry slowly have to be turned 
several times during the drying, and those which are apt to run juice 
are placed so that the eye is raised a little until the juice is thickened. 

*A special illustrated account of handling dried figs in California is given in "The 
Smyrna Fig at Home and Abroad," by George C. Roeding, Fresno, Cal. 



CURING PEACHES AND PEARS 



535 



The white figs are also put in sweat-boxes and dipped in hot salt 
water before packing. In packing, the figs are often flattened and 
drawn out by the hand. Such manipulation gives the fig a lighter and 
more translucent appearance. The time required in drying figs is 
usually from five to eight or ten days, according to location and 
weather. The fruit does not cure evenly, and those which are finished 
(as determined by sight and touch — to be learned by experience) are 
picked from the trays, and others given more time. 







A California Sunshine Evaporator. 



Pears. — The dried pear product is increasing, and, as with apples, 
only a light-colored product is profitable. These are made by sul- 
phuring and sun drying, or by the use of the machine drier. For 
sun drying the fruit of medium size is halved, the large fruit being 
quartered. 

Peaches. — Peaches are sim dried in much the same way as apri- 
cots, already described. Take the fruit when it is fully ripe, but 
not mushy; cut cleanly all around to extract the pit and put on trays 



536 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

cup side up ; get into the sulphur box as soon as possible after cut- 
ting. Peaches are dried both peeled and unpeeled, but drying with- 
out peeling is chiefly done. Peeling is done with the small paring 
machines or with a knife. Peeling with lye has been generally 
abandoned because of discoloration of the fruit after packing, al- 
though it can be successfully done by frequently changing the lye 
and using ample quantities of fresh water for rinsing after dipping. 

Clingstone peaches are successfully handled with curved knives 
and spoon-shaped pitters in conjunction with ordinary fruit knives. 
Different styles are carried at the general stores in the fruit dis- 
tricts, and individuals dififer widely in their preferences. 

The weight of dried peaches which can be obtained from a cer- 
tain weight of fresh fruit, depends upon the variety ; some varieties 
yield at least a third more than others, and clings yield more than 
freestones as a rule. Dry-fleshed peaches, like the ]\Iuir, yield one 
pound dry from four or five pounds fresh, while other more juicy 
fruits may require six or seven pounds. 

Nectarines. — Nectarines are handled like peaches ; the produc- 
tion of translucent amber fruit in the sun depends upon the skillful 
use of sulphur. 

Plums and Prunes.— Our pitted plums, which are an acid fruit, 
are meeting with more favor than formerly, and the product is in- 
creasing. Pitting is done by hand or by the use of foot-power "pitters." 
More rapid and capacious machines are being brought out by in- 
ventors. 

Prunes are one of our greatest and most promising products. 
Several varieties which dry sweet with the pit in are used in making 
prunes, as already stated in Chapter XXIII, but the prevailing variety 
is the Prune D'Agen. 

Prunes are gathered by shaking from the trees, usually upon 
sheets spread beneath. Several gatherings are made by light shakings 
which cause only the ripe specimens to fall. 

Prunes are usually graded before drying, and various homemade 
contrivances are employed. Some use inclined planes of adjustable slats, 
the grader being thus available for other fruits than prunes ; the large 
fruit rolls along into receptacles at the bottom, while the small fruit 
falls through into other receptacles. Other grading devices are made 
with wire screens or riddles of different sizes of mesh. Some of them 
work on the principle of a fanning mill, three to four riddles, placed 
above one another, each with a slight incline and a spot on the side 
where each grade drops into a box. Some have a long riddle, say 
twelve feet long, with three different sizes of wire screen on it. This 
riddle is hung upon four ropes with an incline ; the prunes are thrown 
in the higher end, and by siiaking it they roll down and fall through 



THE CALIFORNIA WAY WITH PRUNES 



^37 



the holes into boxes underneath. The first piece of screen should be 
small, to let only stems and dirt through, and no prunes. This long 
hanging screen is also used to grade prunes after drying. There are 
now several excellent manufactured fruit graders on sale in this State. 
Their work is very satisfactory, and they have largely displaced home- 
made contrivances. 

The next step in the process is dipping in lye to thin and crack 
the skin, which facilitates the escape of moisture in the drying pro- 
cess. In the large caldron lye is made with one pound of concentrated 
lye to each twenty gallons of water, and kept boiling hot. The fruit 
is put into wire baskets or galvanized pails with perforated sides and 
bottoms, and dipped in the boiling lye for about a minute, or until the 
skin has a wrinkled appearance, then the basket is plunged into clean 
cold water to rinse ofif the lye. This rinsing water must be frequently 
changed, for it soon becomes very alkaline. Some begin with a 
stronger lye solution, one pound to ten gallons of water, claiming that 
a very short dip in stronger lye is better than long exposure in a 
weaker solution. After this dipping, the prunes are placed on trays. 
In the sun the prune dries sufficiently in from one to two weeks, 
according to the situation and weather. 

A process of puncturing the skin of the prunes by causing them 
to roll over needle points has also been employed to some extent. 
There are now manufactured very capacious appliances for contin- 
uous dipping, rinsing, puncturing and spreading on the trays so that 
the fruit is handled in large quantities at a minimum cost. In no branch 
of our fruit industry perhaps has there been greater advance in labor- 
saving devices than in prune handling. 

When sufficiently dried the prunes are put through the "sweat," 
which takes from several days to two or three weeks, and then are 
ready for grading, finishing, and packing. In grading, the prunes are 
separated by the use of a grader, as already described, into a number 
of grades, the largest, forty prunes to the pound, and so on, fifty, sixty, 
etc., to the smallest, which may run one hundred or more to the pound. 
Finishing consists in exposing to steam, in dipping in clear hot water, 
or hot sugar syrup, or in dipping in boiled juice of ripe prunes, or 
peaches or apples, etc. Although there is a great variety of materials 
used for "glossing" prunes by different producers, the prevailing prac- 
tice is to rely upon hot water, to which pure glycerine is added at the 
rate of one pound to twenty gallons. Some growers also add a little 
brine (having first dissolved the salt and skimmed ofif the impurities). 
This final hot dip kills insect eggs, and the fruit, after drying ofif away 
from the access of insects, should be packed tightly in boxes. 

The following explicit hints on the curing of- prunes are based 
upon wide experience and observation in the Santa Clara valley : 



538 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

Be sure to allow the prunes to obtain all of the sugar they can from the 
trees by hanging until they drop of their own accord. Do not pick up until 
prunes are soft to the touch. These two rules are productive of nice black 
prunes. They may not be black when gathered in the" bins but will color with 
age, without any foreign coloring matter. 

Do not keep prunes in boxes over night. They go through a sweat, and do 
not make a first quality of dried fruit, and take much longer to dry. It is better 
to let the prunes lie on the ground under the tree for several days than to 
let the picked prunes lie in the boxes over one night. 

The dipping fluid must be kept at the boiling point and no prunes put in 
unless it is boiling. It is not a matter of how strong the lye is, but how hot 
is the water. On the trays prunes will either dry or ferment. Unless the dip 
is hot enough the prune will not immediately commence to dry, but will, in a 
few days, become a chocolate color and refuse to dry, sometimes a few on a 
tray, often half and sometimes nearly all. If the water is at the boiling point 
all through the dip, two pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of water, may be 
sufficient. If the water is not boiling, ten pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of 
water may be required. 

Weather conditions govern the time prunes should remain on the tray. 
Grasp a handful of prunes and give them a gentle squeeze and open the hand 
quickly, if the prunes separate they are ready to stack the trays and the fruit 
should be placed in the bin before it rattles on the trays. 

When the prunes are sufficiently dry put them in a dry place where it will 
not rain on them, but do not prevent the air from getting to them. Let the 
wind have free access until the rains set in then close doors and make the 
house as snug as you can. In making bins, be sure the boards are dry and 
the bins well above ground, or you will have trouble. Do not let prunes get 
damaged by rain. 

For dipping before packing, some use a brine dip — about five pounds of sail 
to 100 gallons of water is about right. This salt dip can be used more safelj- 
for prunes than for peaches or other pitted fruit, as in some instances it has 
attracted moisture and caused mold. As to the respective results of a sal 
solution and glycerine solution, the salt seems to be a cleansing process, which 
leaves the skin of the fruit in a bright, clear condition and brings out the blue 
bloom, which is desirable. The glycerine is more of a svrupy or glossy nature, 
and on prunes that are inclined to be reddish this solution can be used to ad- 
vantage. A common method of treating prunes is to use the small prunes and 
suspend them in the steam-heated tank of the Anderson dipper, where they 
can not come in contact with the steam (which causes the skin and meat of 
the prune to turn dark), dissolve out the juice, thus forming a dip liquor, and 
this is quite extensively used. 

Raisins. — The varieties of grapes used for raisins are described 
in Chapter XXVIII. The production of raisins has readied such 
an extent, and employs so much skill and capital, that the processes 
employed to facilitate the curing and packing are so various that a 
description of them can not be attempted. Besides an excellent special 
treatise has been written on this subject.* However, in beginning the 
commercial production of raisins, one should visit the raisin farms and 
packing-houses during the harvest. The following description by 
T. C. White, of Fresno, gives an outline of practice in the vineyard: 

In Fresno picking commences about the first of September, although there 
have been seasons when it occurred as early as the 20th of August. The grapes 
under no circumstances should be picked for raisins until they are ripe. There 
are three ways by which to ascertain this fact : First, by the color, which 
should be a light amber ; second, by taste ; and third, by the saccharometer, 
which is by far the most accurate. A grape may be ripe, and not have the 
proper color, when grown entirely in the shade. The juice of the grape should 
contain at least twenty-five per cent saccharine, to produce a good raisin. 

* The Raisin Industry by Gustav Eisen, San Francisco. 



CURING R.\ISINS 539 

The method of drying is with trays placed upon the ground. The almost 
entire absence of dew in our locality greatly facilitates this method. The trays 
are usually twenty-four by twenty-six inches, which hold about twenty pounds 
of fruit, and should produce from six to seven pounds of raisins. The product 
of a vineyard depends largely upon its age and favorable conditions, varying 
from two to nine tons of grapes per acre. 

The trays are distributed along the sides of the roads, from which they are 
taken by the pickers as they are needed. As the grapes are picked from the 
vines, all imperfect berries, sticks, and dead leaves are removed from the 
bunches, which are then placed upon the trays, right side up. A cluster has 
what is called a right and a wrong side, the wrong side having more of the 
stems exposed than the right side. Great care should be used in picking, so 
as to handle the bunches only by the stem. If the berries come in contact 
with the hands, some of thie bloom will be removed, which will injure the 
appearance of the raisins. The trays are placed, after filling, between the vines, 
one end being elevated so that the grapes mav receive the more direct rays of 
the sun. 

Too rapid drying is not desirable. The grapes arc left upon the trays until 
about two-thirds dry, which, with us, will be from six to eight days. They are 
then turned. This is accomplished by placing an empty "tray on too of the 
one filled with partiallv-dried raisins, and turning them both over. Then take 
off the upper or original tray, and you have the raisins turned without han- 
dling or damage. After turning, curing will proceed more rapidly, and fre- 
quently is completed in four or five days. During this time they should be 
carefully watched to prevent any from becoming too dry. When it is found 
they are dry enough, the trays are gathered and stacked one upon another as 
high as convenient for the sorting which follows. This protects them from the 
sun and prevents overdrying. Stacking should be attended to early in the 
morninsr. while the stems and berries are slightly moist and cool from the night 
air, as they will retain this moisture after being transferred to the sweat-boxes, 
and assist in quickening the sweating process. 

As the raisins are taken off the trays, some of the berries on the bunch 
will be dry enough and a few will not be sufficiently cured. To remove the 
moist ones would destroy the appearance of the cluster, and to leave them out 
longer would shrivel the dry ones, hence the sweat-box. The moisture is dif- 
fused through the box, some being absorbed by the dry raisins, and the stems 
also taking their share are thus rendered tough and pliable and easily manipu- 
lated when ready for packing. 

Sorting and grading require great care and iudgmcnt, and although a tedious 
process, it greatly facilitates rapid packing. The sweat-box is a little larger 
than the tray and about eight inches deep, and contains about one hundred 
and twenty-five pounds of raisins. Heavy manila paper is used in the sweat- ^ 
boxes, one sheet being placed in the bottom, and three or four more at equal' 
distance as the filling progresses. The object of the paper is to prevent the 
tangling of the stems and consequent brcakin"- of the bunches when removed for 
packing. 

The sorters have three sweat-boxes, one for the first, second and third quali- 
ties, as the grade will justify. The bunches should be handled by the stem and 
placed carefully in the sweat-boxes to avoid breaking the stems, thereby de- 
stroying the symmetry of the clusters. Any found to be too damp are returned 
to the trays and left a day or two longer in the sun. To ascertain if the fruit 
is perfectly cured, take a raisin between the thumb and forefinger and roll it 
gently until softened, when either jelly or water will exude from the stem 
end — if water, it requires further drying. When the boxes are filled, they are 
taken to the equalizer. This should be built of brick or adobe, and as near air- 
tight as possible, but provided with windows to allow ventilation when necessary. 
The windows should have shutters to keep it dark. The filled boxes are placed 
one exactly above another to a convenient height, and should remain from ten 
to twenty days or more, when they will have passed through the sweating 
process. When the raisins are sufficiently equalized, the sweat-boxes are re- 
moved to the packing-room, which is provided with tables, presses, scales, etc. 



540 CALIFORNIA FRTJITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

The foregoing relates to the preparation of the standard clusters. 
Loose raisins are now being produced in increasing quantities. Loose 
Muscatels are prepared by being put through the stemmer and grader. 
The stemmer removes the berries from the stems, and the grader, by- 
separating according to size, determines the grade. During the last 
few years the seeding of raisins has increased rapidly, and large estab- 
lishments for this work, with very ingenious machinery, have been 
erected. Seeded raisins constitute a considerable portion of the product. 

A considerable quantity of dipped raisins are also made of the 
Sultana and Thompson seedless grapes and of loose or inferior Mus- 
catels. A lye dip of about one pound of potash to twelve gallons of 
water is used, and the solution is kept boiling hot. The ripe fruit is 
dipped for an instant, then plunged in fresh water for a thorough 
rinsing, and then placed on the trays. During warm, dry weather in 
the interior, the raisins are dried in the shade by leaving the trays in 
piles, but if cooler, moister weather prevails, the trays must be spread 
out. The product is a handsome amber color. 

An oil dip has been profitably used -with Thompson's Seedless : 

One quart of olive oil ; ^ pound Greenbank soda and 3 quarts 
water are made into an emulsion, and then reduced with 10 gallons 
water in the dipping tank, adding more soda to get lye-strength enough 
to cut the skins, and more soda has to be added from time to time to 
keep up the strength. The grapes are dipped in this solution and 
sulphured to the proper color. 



GRAPE SYRUP 

The manufacture of grape syrup, which was formerly of consid- 
erable prominence as a means of disposing of wine grapes, has recently 
received less attention because of low prices in competition with the 
vast amount of syrup available from the sugar refineries. 



MACHINE EVAPORATION 

Although California summer conditions of adequate heat and dry 
air favor open-air evaporation to such an extent that nearly all our 
product of cured fruit is secured in that way, there are some parts of 
the State where artificial heat would be a safer recourse and there are 
late fruits which sometimes collide with early rains in a way to cause 
losses even in our best sun-curing regions. 

It is interesting, therefore, to describe a machine evaporator con- 
structed upon true principles and having capacity sufficiently large 
to encourage its use. Mr. L. W. Parsons of Campbell, Santa Clara 
county, has given most of his life to the design and construction of 



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542 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

fruit evaporators, and secured patents thereupon which have expired 
and are now public property. In the Pacific Rural Press of June 19 
and 26, 1909, he gave his conclusions on the desirability of machine 
evaporation and a design for the construction of an evaporator which 
embodied all his best work in this line. The accompanying drawings 
and description are from Mr. Parson's writings : 

A fruit drying chamber capable of holding about two tons is about as large 
as one heater can well handle. Wire travs two feet wide bv five feet long 
are as large as one strong man can conveniently handle ; he might prefer them 
shorter; in fact, if the smaller tray would srive a drier with sufficient capacity 
to meet the demands of the owner, he could make the trays two by four feet, 
with a narrower furnace, to correspond. Where two men are always avail- 
able, trays three by six feet have been found to work well. 

A drier five feet wide and twenty-four feet long, having ten trays in its 
length and twelve trays high, holds 120 trays 2 by 5 feet, or a total drying 
surface of 1.200 square feet, which at the rate of 3 pounds per foot give a 
total of 3,600 pounds at one time : that is, it would take that much gross weight 
of fruit before cutting to fill the trays. Large fruit would amount to more, 
and small fruit or culls might not go above two pounds to the foot. 

By making the drier one or two trays longer and higher, and a foot or so 
wider, the capacity may he materially increased. But if much more capacity is 
desired, it would be better to build another drier, or several of them, alongside 
of it, which would work satisfactorily^ 

The fruit dryinf^ chamber rests on toD of the hot air chamber, which is 
surrounded by brick or cement walls about eieht inches thick, and is as long 
and wide as the fruit chamber above. The height of these walls depends on 
the size and shane of the heater enclosed bv them. The furnace is a very im- 
portant factor: it must be strong, not easilv burned out, smoke-tight in all 
its joints and flues, with caps or covers so placed to facilitate cleaning out 
soot and ashes. There must be room between the sides of the furnace and 
the side walls to allow for circulation of the air to be heated. 

Fresh air enters this hot air chamber through onenings about a foot square 
at the bottom in front between the furnace and the side walls ; oasses alonsr 
on the sides and too of furnace and flues until it reaches the back end of the 
hot air chamber, where it passes up through an opening into the fruit chamber 
above. 

The next, and perhaps the most critical, nart in the construction, is the 
sheet iron floor which covers the furnace and flues and separates them from 
the fruit chamber above. This iron floor is made of either black or galvanized 
iron, not thinner than No. 24: thicker would be better. Tt rests on rods or 
bars of angle or T iron stretched from wall to wall, with ends built into the 
walls. These rods are spaced about two feet apart. The sheets of iron should 
be riveted or bolted together. The edp-es of this iron floor should project into 
and be imbedded in the brick walls in front and alonp- the two side \yalls as 
far back as the floor goes to the other end of the drier. Cover this floor 
with an inch or so of sand or fine earth, so as to stop up all cracks. At the 
back end of drier this iron floor is cut short one foot, allowing an opening of 
one bv about five feet to allow the hot air from the heater below the iron 
floor to pass up into the fruit chamber above. This floor must be made tight 
evervwhere, so no hot air can possibly leak upward and scorch the fruit or the 
woodwork above. 

The brick walls should be built about eiehteen inches above the iron floor, 
so that the wooden frame which rests on too will be safe from burning. 

The furnace may be about four feet high bv three feet wide, with an ash 
pit in the bottom part, and six or eight or more feet long. This will handle 
four-foot cordwood conveniently and make a liberal combustion chamber for 
the flames. It may be a cylinder or shaped like a boiler, or have brick walls, 
with a cast iron arch on top. Or it may be a big wrought iron box made of 
quarter-inch boiler iron, braced with angle iron to prevent warping. 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR BUILDING EVAPORATOR 543 

A smoke pipe one foot in diameter connects with the back end of the fur- 

-aace, passes horizontally to near the back end of the drier, then by a short 

elbow doubles back, coming to the front over the top of the furnace, and then, 

by an elbow, to right or left through the side brick wall to connect with the 

pipe inside of the ventilator shaft or flue. 

If the furnace is four feet high and the pipe above it one foot thick, allow 
six inches space between the top of the furnace and the pipe and between 
the pipe and the sheet-iron floor above it; then add the eighteen inches of brick 
wall above the iron floor; we get a total height of seven and a half feet from 
the ground to top of wall. 

But only the furnace needs to be as deep as this, and it can be placed in a 
pit at one end of the drier. The brick walls back of the furnace do not need 
to go so far down by perhaps two feet. The smoke pipe leaving the furnace 
close to its top can rest on a brick lying on top of the ground, so the part of 
the heating chamber holding the long flues may be shallower, thus saving 
some expense in masonry. The top of the brick wall should be level all the 
way around and even with the floor of the house, so the operator can easily 
handle the trays on the upper track. Do not insert woodwork of any kind into 
the brickwork. 

Lay 2x4 inch sills on top of the brick walls all around the four sides. Cut 
your upright studding of 2x4 joists six and a half feet high, spaced two feet 
apart, and nail a 2x4 plate on top. This is for the two long sides. The ends 
of the drying chamber are to be supplied with close-fitting doors. Nail sur- 
faced matched lumber on the inner face of. the studding. These boards had 
better be of redwood, so as not to gum up the trays with pitch. 

These two side walls should be perfectly straight, plumb and level and at 
equal distance apart at all points, so the travs will work true and not bind or 
slip off the tracks. Nail to these walls tracks or slides made of strips one 
and one-half inches sauare. Fasten to these tracks wheels, known to the hard- 
ware men as "sash rollers," one inch in diameter and spaced ten inches apart 
along the track. Cut a little notch in the edge of the track, so the wheel can 
turn freely, with the big side of the wheel upward. Put twelve of these tracks 
on each wall, snaced six inches apart, beginning six inches from the ceiling to 
the top of the first track, then six inches to ton of next track, etc. One strong 
16 penny wire nail driven into each stud will hold these tracks securely. Fasten 
the wheels with screws to the track on a work bench before nailing them to 
the walls. 

Nail matched lumber on top of the plates from side to side for a ceiling. 
This wooden shell will have to be braced from the outside so it can stand 
up firmly with its load of fruit. 

The ventilator or exhaust flue should be about two bv three feet inside 
and extend about twenty feet above the ton of the drier. Build it against the 
side of the drier, resting on top of the brick wall, close to the front end of 
the drier. 

The smoke pipe must be carried by a suitable elbow from its position above 
the furnace through the side brick wall to a point under the center of the 
ventilator, thence up through it to the top. A sheet-iron weather cap on top 
should protect the ventilator and smoke pipe. Make the bottom of the ven- 
tilator where smoke pipe enters, air tight to ensure good draft. Provide caps 
or covers at the elbows to facilitate cleaning out the soot. 

On the side of the drying chamber, at the bottom, cut a hole into the ven- 
tilator for the passage of the damp air from the fruit into the ventilator. This 
opening should be the shape of a right angled triangle, in such position as 
though the bottom cover of the side wall were being cut off. The bottom and 
perpendicular side of opening are to be three feet long. The lower tracks go 
past this opening to carry trays to the door. Some kind of a small guide 
rail should be placed to prevent the corners of the trays from striking against 
the edge of opening. The trays are to be one-half inch shorter than the drier 
is wide inside, so as to move freely without danger of being bound. Two 
or three rods of half-inch iron provided with screws and nuts should pass 
through from side to side of drying chamber about half way from top to 



544 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

bottom, to prevent the walls of the drier from warping or bulging, or else 
the trays will drop off the tracks. 

Make four sides of the trays of stuff one and a half inches square, notched 
at_ the corners of trays. Tack on No. 3 mesh galvanized wire cloth. Over 
this nail strips one inch thick l)y one and half inches wide for runners to 
roll over the wheels. Nail a similar strip across the middle of the tray to 
prevent the wire cloth from sagging. From twenty-five to fifty extra trays will 
be found convenient in operating the drier. The wire cloth is two feet wide. 
Make the tray frames two feet one inch wide. With average prices for labor 
and material this drier can be built in a substantial manner for about $500. 

To Operate the Drier. — Get started right by taking all day in gradually 
filling the drier, so that by night time the first trays will be within a few hours 
of being finished. Start a good fire before putting in the fruit, so as to burn 
out the oily smells of the new ironwork. Use the eight lower tracks for the 
fresh fruit. Put eight trays in at a time, one tray on each of the eight lower 
tracks about every forty-five minutes, starting them at the front end over the 
furnace and pushing along. After ten lots have been so placed the eight lower 
tracks will be full. Then take out one tray from each track at the back end 
and put them in on the upper four tracks, two trays on a track, to be gradually 
pushed along from time to time, as often as fresh trays are put in at the front, 
until the machine is full and the dryest trays will be at the front end on the 
upper four tracks. The fresh, wet fruit will in this way have its vapor drawn 
out through the ventilator close by, without wetting the fruit which is partly dry. 
As the fruit gets dryer it is moved into dryer and warmer air at the back 
end. But this fresh air right from the heater below is 180 degrees hot and 
unsafe for fruit to finish in, so it is started back on the upper tracks to finish 
in a milder temperature, with enough vapor in the air to allow the fruit to 
finish gradually without danger of scorching, turning out the fruit in a soft and 
flexible condition, evenlv cured and right in color. This process is peculiar to 
this evaporator and yields the best results in quality of work done. 

If fruit is rushed too fast through the drier it will get back to the front 
and top too soon and will be too wet to dry readilv in the lower temperature. 

If the beginner gets caught this way, it will be better, after waiting a little, 
to take it out, and, if still too wet, carrv it back to the other end and put in on 
the upper four tracks again to gradually go forward again. After a little ex- 
perience he will learn how and when to move the fruit. 

As to variations of heat in different parts of the drier and the effects thereof, 
it may be added that the thermometer hanging in the current of air just as it 
strikes the fruit may register 190 degrees and do no harm, for the fruit at that 
end of the drier has enough moisture to save it. The air cools rapidly, and 
when it reaches the other end of the drier where the fruit on the top tracks 
is nearly dry, the temperature will be about 40 degrees cooler. _ This is one 
of the most valuable points in this evaporator, finishing the fruit in a lower 
temperature and yet with but little moisture in the air. 

Wood or coal fires will fluctuate in heat, and a careless operator might allow 
the temperature to get to -200 or 210 degrees, but if it does not last more than 
a few minutes, and as the fruit is not too near being finished at the exposed 
end, no harm is done. A thermometer resting on the tray at the back end 
lying between the fruit will show about 10 degrees lower temperature than when 
haneing clear in the draft at that point. 

While drying the trays should not touch the ends of the drier, but be pushed 
back about a foot and a half from the doors to allow room for free circulation 
of air at the back end of drier and down at the front end. It takes sixteen 
to twenty-four hours to dry the fruit, according to kind and size. Apples are 
dried in six to eight hours. 

The furnace may be made to use any fuel. An oil burner is the best, because 
the heat can be kept steadily at the maximum. 



PART NINE: FRUIT PROTECTION 



CHAPTER XXXIX 
CALIFORNIA METHODS WITH INJURIOUS INSECTS 

The California climate, which so favors tree and vine by a long, 
mild, growing season also enables some insects to multiply much more 
rapidly than they do in wintry climes ; some having several distinct 
broods, others carrying on the work of reproduction and destruction of 
plants nearly the year round. The difficulties of the problem of the 
control of injurious insects are constantly being increased because 
new pests, in spite of the most careful efforts to keep them outside 
our boundaries, occasionally find their way into our orchards and 
vineyards. Furthermore native species, . feeding, unnoticed perhaps, 
upon wild growths have found, in certain instances, that cultivated 
plants offer to them most satisfactory food and then suddenly become 
a factor in the horticulturists' problem. 

Undoubtedly parasitic and predaceous insects preying upon the 
injurious species found in the fruit plantations are of assistance, in 
greater or lesser measure, in reducing the pests, and this service is 
being promoted by the introduction of beneficial insects from other 
parts of the world. There are many of our native species of insects, 
also syrphus and ichneumon flies, ladybirds, etc.. that are valuable in 
this regard. Other factors also, such as untoward weather-conditions 
at the time of hatching, bacterial and fungous diseases of insects, etc., 
assist the horticulturist in his warfare against injurious insects. It is 
also a fact that California conditions have demanded and favored the 
development of ways and means for the suppression of orchard and 
vineyard pests, and methods and appliances have been invented which 
have demonstrated notable efficiency and value. 

While the literature upon the subject of insect pests in California 
is quite extensive, much of it is beyond the reach of the general 
reader. Nevertheless there are a number of publications which should 
be secured and studied by every fruit grower. These are the bulletins 
and reports of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the Univeristy 
of California, at Berkeley (from which many of the following state- 
ments are taken) ; of the State Board of Horticulture, at Sacramento; 
and of the Bureau of Entomology of the United States Department 
of Agriculture, at Washington. A most useful addition to the horti- 
culturist's library will be found in Kellogg's "American Insects," pub- 
lished by Henry Holt and Company, New York. This excellent work 
545 



546 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

of Professor Vernor Kellogg-, of Stanford University, is particularly 
valuable because of its California observations and point of view. 
Futhermore as the study of the pests and the invention of means for 
their destruction are continually progressing one can only keep himself 
up to date and enable himself to profit by improvements, by diligent 
reading of California periodicals devoted to practical horticulture. 



CLASSES OF INSECTS 

In order to arrange injurious insects in classes in a popular way, 
the grouping here will be based upon the character of the work they 
do. This arrangement has been followed by other writers and is 
perhaps better than attempting to group the insects which prey upon 
any single tree or plant, because injurious insects seldom restrict 
themselves to a single food plant. Therefore the grouping will be as 
follows : 

( 1 ) Insects destroying foliage ; 

(2) Insects upon the bark or upon the surface of leaf and fruit; 

(3) Insects boring into the twig, stem or root; 

(4) Insects boring into the pulp of fruits. 



INSECTS DESTROYING FOLIACxE 

Cut Worms and Army Worms. — These are the larvae of Noc- 
tuid moths, which often become abundant over limited areas and 
do much damage to trees and plants. Cut worms and Army worms 
are terms applied to the same insects in California. In ordinary 
years they are not present in sufficient numbers to cause much con- 
cern, and in such years they are known simply as cut worms. When 
all conditions are favorable, however, certain species develop in 
enormous numbers and having exhausted the food supply where they 
breed, they begin to migrate or march, commonly in a definite direction, 
as an army in search of new food. When they thus appear in such 
large numbers and take on the migrating habit they are called army 
worms. 

Some of the caterpillars have the habit of climbing up vines and 
trees and eating ofif the buds in the early spring. These are called 
climbing cut worms. Others remain at or near the surface of the 
ground and feed by cutting off the plants at this point. They are 
more commonly found in the grass lands, but very frequently attack 
cultivated crops, particularly on land that was in grass the previous 
year. ; ^. 



CUT WORMS AND ARMY WORMS 



547 



Of the methods used to protect trees and plants from cut worms, 
poisoned bait is probably the most common. This consists of bran 
and molasses or other sweet substance poisoned with arsenic and 
distributed in handfuls about the plants. The proportions are as 
follows: forty pounds of bran, two gallons of cheap molasses, and 
five pounds of arsenic. Cheap glycerine may be used to prevent the 
mixture from drying. This will be eaten by the worms in preference, 
usually, to the plants which it is desired to protect. 




Army Worm (Heliophila unipuncta). 



Cut worms and army worms may also be captured by means of 
traps. Because of their habit of feeding at night and remaining 
concealed during the day, pieces of boards may be placed on the 
ground around the growth to be protected and these may be turned 
over during the day and the worms killed. 

In case of outbreaks of army worms the most important and 
successful means of fighting them is to keep them out of the orchard 
or vineyard entirely. This can be successfully done if they are dis- 
covered in time or if already in one portion they can be kept from 
spreading over the rest of the property. They travel in immense 
numbers in a definite direction, coming generally from an adjoining 
or nearby grain field. If a burrow is plowed along the side of the 
place to be protected it will efifectively stop their progress. This furrow 
should be plowed as deep as possible, with the vertical side next to 
the field to be protected. It can be further trimmed with a spade, 
preferably cutting under slightly, making a smooth surface, over 
which few if any, of the worms will make their way. Above this 



548 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



shoulder fine pulverized earth should slope as abruptly upward as 
possible. If any of the worms succeed in climbing up over the 
smooth surface made by the spade they will be pretty sure to fall 
back as they reach this fine loose earth in an attempt to ascend over 
the projecting shoulder. Postholes should be dug on the straight 
edge of the furrow every fifteen or twenty feet. The worms in failing 
to scale the vertical side of the furrow will crawl along in the bottom 
and fall into these holes. Here they may be killed by pouring in a 
little crude oil, or by pouring in a little distillate and dropping in a 




Moths of cut worms. 



match, thus burning them, or the holes filled in and others dug. 
They may also be killed in the furrow by sprinkling them with 
kerosene or by pouring a strip of crude oil along the furrow. 

Canker Worms.— These are destructive leaf-feeding caterpillars, 
commonly known also as inch-worms, loopers or measuring worms, 
because of the peculiar looping gait by which they move about. The 
male moths are slender bodied and have broad thin wings, while the 
females are wingless, heavy-bodied creatures. 

While these caterpillars can in large measure be controlled by 
spraying with lead arsenate or Paris green, it is by far the best to 
use the trap method of control and avoid having them upon the 
trees at all. The trap method depends for its success upon the fact 
that the wingless female moth upon emerging from her cocoon in 



CANKER WORMS 



549 



the ground immediately crawls up the trunk of the nearby tree and 
places her eggs upon the twigs. By trapping the females on their 
way up into the trees no eggs can be placed near the foliage and the 
caterpillars hatching from them can do no damage. The traps are 
made thus : Take No. 16 or No. 14 wire cloth in strips six inches 
wide, draw and tack the top edge close to the trunk of the tree over a 
bandage of cloth which is put on first to make the joint tight. The 
lower edge should flare out about an inch from the tree all around. 
This trap will need rather frequent cleaning while the moths are 
active. 




Home and work of the Tent Caterpillar. 



Tent Caterpillars. — Several species of hairy caterpillars called 
"tent caterpillcrs," or "web worms," from their spinning covers of 
cobweb-like material, under which they take shelter in large colonies ; 
but one, at least, of the group does not spin a web, though it lives 
in clusters on the tree. The worms can be killed by cutting off and 
burning the twig holding the cluster or by burning the colonies in 
place with a torch on the end of a pole, or by spraying the foliage 



550 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



with lead arsenate or Paris green. The pest can be reduced while 
pruning by carefully collecting and burning the egg clusters, which 
encircle the twig. 

Red-Humped Caterpillar, — Striped caterpillars, not hairy, but 
having two rows of black spines along the back, also living in clusters ; 
of reddish color with yellow and white lines; a short distance back 
of the red head of the caterpillar is a red hump on which are four 
black spines ; black spines are also scattered over the body, but 
smaller than those on the back. Spray with lead arsenate or Paris 
green, or cut off and burn colonies. 

Caterpillar of Tussock Moth. — A conspicuous caterpillar with 
four short, brush-like tufts on its back, and two long, black plumes 
at the front, and one at the rear of the body — see engraving. This 
leaf-eater is found on apple, pear, plum and sometimes on other fruit 
trees, also on the walnut and oak. The caterpillars are peculiarly 




The tussock-moth larva, the so-called horned caterpillar. 
(Somev/hat enlarged.) 

resistant to arsenical sprays and can not be successfully controlled by 
these. The larva spins a cocoon sometimes in the fold of a leaf, more 
commonly in crotches or rough places on the bark, or even on ad- 
jacent buildings or fences, and the female, after emerging from the 
cocoon, deposits her eggs upon the outside of it. The engravings 
show caterpillars and their peculiar markings. The insect is for- 
tunately very freely parasitized in the egg form and prevented from 
wide injury. It can be controlled by destroying the egg masses dur- 
ing pruning, as they are white and very conspicuous. 

Pear and Cherry Slug. — A small, slimy, dark-colored worm, with 
the fore part of the body notably larger than the rear part, eating 
the upper surface of the leaves but not usually making holes through 
them. The insect can be checked by throwing fine road dust or air- 
slacked lime over the tree, which cakes upon the slime of the worm 



SLUGS AND BEETLES 551 

and destroys it. On a large scale an arsenate of lead or Paris green 
spray is best. 

Saw-Fly Worms. — There are several larvae of saw-flies which 
do much injury to pear trees, currants, etc., by eating the whole leaf 
substance except the larger ribs. The worms are small, not slimy like 
the pear slug, the one infesting the pear being about half an inch when 
fully grown. Its general appearance and work are shown by the en- 
gravings. The most available remedy is an arsenate of lead or Paris 
green spray. 

Large Caterpillars on Grape-vines. — The grape-vine is often 
seriously injured by the attacks of very large leaf-eating worms two 
inches and upwards in length, sometimes with a large horn, or spine, 
sometimes without. They are larvae of several species of Sphinx 
moths or hawk-moths. The worms when new hatched can be killed 
by an arsenical spray or by hand-picking. The numbers of worms 
can be reduced by killing the large moths which are abundant at 
nightfall on beds of verbenas, or other garden flowers. These worms 
are related to the other large caterpillars which feed on tobacco, 
tomatoes, etc. 

Leaf Eating Beetles. — There are many beetles, large and small, 
which infest grape leaves. They can all be reduced by the use of 
arsenate of lead or Paris green, or those which drop to the ground 
when disturbed may be collected in large numbers on sheets spread 
below. 

The most notable of these because of its evil work in the central 
part of the State, and because the grub destroys the roots of the vine 
causing it to be called the "grape root worm," and the beetle riddles 
the leaves and young fruit. It is Adoxiis vitis and a special study of it 
has been made by Professor H. J. Quayle, of the University Experi- 
ment Station, the results of which are published in Bulletin 195 of 
the station and remedies suggested. Our pictures will enable the 
reader to recognize the beetle and its work. The beetle is about one- 
fifth of an inch in length and is black or brown. 



552 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

INSECTS UPON BARK OR SURFACE OF LEAVES 
OR FRUIT 

Leaf Lice. — Leaves of fruit trees, especially the apple and plum, 
are sometimes almost covered with lice or aphides of different colors, 
from light green to black, some individuals having wings and some 
wingless. Available remedies for all these leaf lice are the kerosene 
emulsions and other mixtures which will be given later as summer 
washes for scale insects, with a spray nozzle which sends spray up- 
wards, so as to reach the under sides of the leaves. Very often these 
pests are apparently cleared out by lady-birds and other insects which 
devour them. The engraving shows the general form of the aphis 
tribe. 




Wingless partheno-genetic female. Wingless female. 

Forms of Aphids or Plant Lice. 

Thrips. — Very minute insects infesting buds, leaves and blos- 
soms of pears, prunes, cherries, peaches and many other trees and 
plants. The attack on leaves and buds causes them to wither and fall 
off. Indeed complete defoliation may follow their attack. When thrips 
infest fruit blossoms the essential parts are eaten off by the insects 
and the attacked blossom sets no fruit. Much damage is done by the 
insect and thorough investigation has been pursued by several in- 
vestigators of the Bureau of Entomology of the U. S. Department of 



THRIPS AND VINE HOPPERS 553 

Agriculture, and by the California Experiment Station. Early results 
indicate that the insect is capable of control by spring spraying with 
several insecticides, x^s experiments are still in progress the relative 
superiority of treatments is undetermined and one must keep abreast 
of the subject by careful reading of California journals devoted to 
fruit growing. Spraying can be done with safety to opening buds, 
but should not be sprayed on trees in full bloom, and its use can be re- 
sumed immediately after the blossoms have fallen, and later on the 
foliage for adults and larvae. The first application should properly 
be made when the thrips are coming from the ground in maximum 




Adult of the grape root-worm — greatly enlarged 

numbers and before the cluster buds are to far advanced. This period 
in the San Jose district is early in March, but it of course differs for 
the several varieties of fruits. An effort should be made to kill all 
adults in an orchard before March 15, when practically all thrips are 
out of the ground and when egg-laying on the stems of leaves or bloom 
begins. 

Vine Hoppers. — Very minute, yellowish, jumping insects in- 
festing grape-vines very early in the season, and multiplying rapidly. 
The vine hopper (often called incorrectly the vine thrips) is the most 
widely distributed and most uniformly present of all the grape insects 
occurring in the State. It occurs in injurious numbers, however, 
chiefly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. It is also present 



554 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



in the coast counties, but rarely in sufficient numbers to do much in- 
jury. Another large species (Tettigonia atropnnctata) occurs in these 
localities and sometimes does considerable injury in the early part of 
the season. The principal injury caused by this insect is due to the 
extraction of the plant juices. These are sucked out by means of a 
sharp beak or proboscis, which is inserted into the plant tissues. 

The most satisfactory method of control is in the use of a hopper 
cage to be used in the early spring when the young shoots of the vine 
are about four or five inches long. 




The vine hopper cage. 



The hopper cage, shown in an adjacent engraving, consists of a 
framework of laths over which is tacked a double layer of mosquito 
wire netting or a single 20-mesh wire screen. The bottom consists of 
a shallow pan or tray made by turning up about an inch of the edges 
of a sheet of light galvanized iron. One entire side of the cage is left 
open, and there is a V-shaped opening in the tray at the bottom which 
allows the cage to be' pushed over the vine. The base of the V-shaped 
opening in the bottom is padded with leather and the vine is bumped 
and the hoppers jarred off, at the same time that the cage is being 
swung into position. The sides of the cage and the tray at the bottom 



THE GRAPE ADOXUS 5 

are smeared with crude oil, and the hoppers as they are jarred ofif are 
caught in the oil. 

If there is a breeze blowing the cage can be operated with the 
open side facing the wind and practically no hoppers will escape. If, 
however, the day is calm and warm and the hoppers are particularly 
active a curtain can readily be dropped over the open side as the cage 
is pushed on to the vine, and it will prevent any from escaping. 

The V-shaped opening which might allow hoppers to drop to the 
ground in front of the vine can be covered with canvas, as follows : 
Take two pieces of canvas about the shape of the opening and a little 
wider. Double this once on itself and between the two layers sew in 
pieces of three-fourths inch rubber tubing transversely. These are 
then firmly tacked on the sides of the opening as shown in the en- 
graving. This will allow the cage to be pushed in on the vine and 
the flexibility of the tubing will bring the canvas immediately into 
position again. This with the curtain in front, shuts off all possibility 
of escape. 




Grape leaf showing characteristic work of the adoxus beetle. 



556 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

False Chinch-Bugs. — Small, grayish-brown insects (about one- 
eighth of an inch long when fully grown), which injure the vine 
leaves. They drop to the ground when the vine is disturbed, and may 
be caught as just described for vine hoppers. 

Grasshoppers. — These pests often invade orchard and vineyard, 
and sometimes kill the plants outright by completely defoliating them. 
This plague has been successfully met by the use of the arsenic and 
bran remedy, prepared as follows : Forty pounds of bran, two gallons 
of cheap syrup, five pounds of arsenic, mixed soft with water ; a 
tablespoonful thrown by the side of each vine or tree. If placed on 
shingles about the vineyard, much of the poison not eaten may be 
afterward gathered up and saved.* 

Red Spider and Other Mites. — Very minute insects, usually dis- 
cernible only with the aid of a magnifier, sometimes destroy the leaves, 
causing them to lose their color and health by their inroads upon the 
leaf surface. The red spider and yellow mite are conspicuous ex- 
amples ; they infest nearly all orchard trees, especially the almond, 
prune, and plum. The eggs of the red spider are ruby-red globules, 
as seen with the magnifier, and are deposited in vast numbers upon 
the bark of the tree, and leave a red color upon the finger if it is 
rubbed over them. The eggs are very hard to kill, and treatment is 
most effective when applied in the spring and summer after the mites 
are hatched out. The popular remedy is a thorough dusting of the 
trees with sulphur. On a large scale the sulphur is applied in a cloud 
by means of a modification of the broad-cast barley sower or with the 
sulphur machines specially made for this purpose. On a small sacle 
it may be applied with a bellows as for grape-vines, or shaken from a 
cheese-cloth bag at the end of a pole. Sulphur sprays have been found 
most effective in controlling the red spider. The ingredients of the 
sulphur sprays are prepared as follows : 

Flour Paste. — Take one pound of wheat flour to one gallon of 
water. Place the flour in a box with a screen bottom (common 
window screening), and pour the water through it, until all the flour 
has been washed into the receiving vessel. It will then be finely divided 
and free from lumps. The mixture should then be brought to the 
boiling point, being stirred constantly, thus forming a thin paste, 
without lumps. 

The paste is conveniently made in 20-gallon lots, using the com- 
mon 25-gallon kettles so often found on California ranches ; if large 
kettles are not available, the paste can be boiled in less water and 



* For the protection of nurseries, orchards, and vineyards it is often necessary to resort 
to various devices for excluding the grasshopper, cr for destroying them upon adjoining 
fields. Publications describing such devices are Bulletins 142, 170 and 192, University 
Experiment Station, Berkeley. 



RED SPIDER SPRAYS 



557 



then diluted to the above proportions before cooling. The paste 
should then be strained before using. 

Sulfid of Potash Stock Solution. — Granulated, powdered concen- 
trated lye, 15 pounds; sulphur, 18 pounds; water to make 20 gallons. 




Hawk Moth larva. (Philamoeles achemon Drury.) 

Stir the sulphur and lye together in a vessel which will allow plenty 
of room for boiling. When well mixed, add about one pint of water, 
placing it in a slight hollow in the mixture, and stir in slowly. The 
mixture will soon begin to melt and boil, forming a red fluid; stir 




Hawk Moth (Philampeles achemon Drury). 



558 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

until the boiling ceases, and then add water to make 20 gallons. This 
stock solution will keep for awhile, or indefinitely when protected from 
the air. 

Preparation of the Spray Mixture with Sulphid of Potash. — Place 
10 to 15 pounds of sublimed sulphur, or 14 to 20 pounds of ground 
sulphur in a spray tank with 4 gallons of flour paste and 1 to 2 gallons 
of the sulfid of potash stock solution ; add water to make 100 gallons 
For summer or spring spraying after the danger of rains is over, 
the minimum amount of sulphur is sufficient. 

Phylloxera. — This pest of the grape-vine is closely allied to the 
aphides, and lives both upon the root and leaf, though in this State 
the root type prevails and the leaf form is seldom seen. No remedy 
has yet been found effectual, but escape is had by using roots resisting 
the insects, as described in Chapter XXVI. The insects are recognized, 
by the aid of a magnifier, as minute yellow lice, chiefly on the rootlets. 
Full account of the insect is given in Bulletin 192, University of Cali- 
fornia Experiment Station. 

The Woolly Aphis. — A louse of dark red color, occurring in 
groups, covered with a woolly substance which exudes from the 
bodies of the insects. The woolly aphis is an almost universal pest of 
the apple, though as shown by experience, some varieties are prac- 
tically exempt from it. As the pest lives both upon root and top, its 
annihilation is impossible, but it may be reduced so that the fruitful- 
ness and vigor of the tree are not impaired. The use of wood ashes 
around the tree close to the trunk has been beneficial. Removing the 
earth above the main roots, in a circle two to four feet in diameter 
and soaking the ground with kerosene emulsion, using from three to 
five gallons to the tree, has been found very effective in killing the root 
form. The insect on the branches and twigs can be reduced by 
spraying with the summer washes soon to be given for scale insects. 
Ladybirds often clear away the woolly aphis, after reproduction has 
fallen below the normal, from the tree above ground. Some attention 
is being given to trial of resistant roots and it is likely that such roots 
will be generally used here as in Australia. How such trees are grown 
is described on page 227. 

Scale Insects. — This is a large group of pests which occasion 
greater loss and trouble to our fruit growers than all other pests 
combined. There are many species, and no orchard tree is exempt 
from the attacks of one or more of them, though some trees are ap- 
parently more popular with the pests than others. The fruit grower 
should study their life history and classification as laid down in the 
works on entomology. It will only be possible in this connection to 
introduce a few engravings, by which some of the most prominent 



THE SAN JOSE SCALE 559 

pests can be recognized, and to give some of the remedies which are 
now being most successfully employed against them. 

San Jose Scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus). — This was formerly 
one of the worst and most widespread of the species of scales preying 
on deciduous fruit trees in California, but at present, owing to the 
energetic war that fruit growers have had to wage against it, has 
become of minor importance, and, in fact, has practically disappeared 
from some regions where it was formerly most injurious. The work 
of this species is generally readily distinguished from other species 
of scale by the red blotches which are formed wherever it stings any 
part of the tree — either branch, leaf or fruit. These red blotches are 
more pronounced in some varieties than in others. When the scales 
are present in large numbers, it causes a complete discoloration of the 
bark clear to the sap-wood. This scale has its preference among the 
deciduous fruits. The apricot and certain varieties of cherries and 
plums are but little affected. 

The Greedy Scale (Aspidiotus rapax). — This species affects many 
kinds of trees, deciduous as well as evergreens. Scale, about one- 
sixteenth of an inch in length ; form, ovoid ; color, drab ; female, bright 
yellow. This insect is found in many places along the coast. It is 
distinguishable easily from the Aspidiotus periciosus by its whitish 
yellow color, contrasting with the dark color of the latter. Generally 
this scale has only one brood in the season, and, as compared with the 
San Jose scale, it is of little danger, owing to its slow-breeding pro- 
pensities. 

Oyster Shell Scale of Apple (Lepidosaplics ulmi). — This scale af- 
fects the apple chietly, although sometimes the pear also. Owing to 
the thickness of the armor, it is one of the most difficult of the scales 
to exterminate. It is easily recognized by its long curved form. 

Rose and Berry Scale (Aulacaspis rosac). — This scale has such 
striking forms that it can be readily recognized. The round white 
scale is that of the female, the elongated one with ridges is the male. 
The rose scale infests, besides roses, various fruit bushes, especially 
blackberries and raspberries. Remedy: For raspberries and black- 
berries the cutting down of the canes to the ground should be adopted, 
and the stumps sprayed or washed with kerosene emulsion, recom- 
mended under the head of general remedies for scale insects. 

Oleander Scale (Aspidiotus hedcrac). — This scale is small, flat, 
yellowish-white. It aft'ects a great many trees, especially evergreens. 
Lemon trees become badly affected, and the fruit is sometimes com- 
pletely covered. The olive is also subject, and the fruit of the olive when 
infested does not mature well, and wherever a scale is found, a green 
blotch makes its appearance. 



560 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 




Root injury by Phylloxera and forms of insect. 

A healthy root; b, root on which the lice are working, representing the knots and swell- 
ings caused by their punctures; c, root deserted by lice and beginning to decay; d, d, d, show 
how the lice apnear on the larger roots; e, the nymph; g, winged female. After Riley. 



Red Scale of Orange and Lemon. — (Chrysomphalcs aurantii). — 
This scale affects citrus trees in both the coast and interior regions. 
The scale fully grown is one-twelfth of an inch or a little more in 
diameter, center yellow, margin light brown. The appearance of 
trees infested with this pest is very striking, very much resembling 
those diseased from other causes, such as bad drainage, the leaf pre- 
senting a mottled appearance, a light blotch around the scale contrasting 
with the natural green of the leaf. The branches are but little troubled, 
but the fruit, like the leaf, becomes completely covered with the in- 
sects. An orange tree infested with this scale gradually becomes sickly 
and languishes. 

Other Citrus Tree Scales. — Two scales more recently brought 
into this State from Florida are the "purple scale," Lepidosaphcs 
heskii, and the "long scale," Lepidosaphcs glovcrii. The red and purple 
scales of citrus trees are only treated successfully by fumigation with 
hydrocyanic acid gas. This treatment is an elaborate one, requiring 



VARIOUS SCALE INSECTS 



561 



special appliances which are fully illustrated and described in publica- 
tions by the Agricultural Experiment Station at Berkeley. 




The black scale (Saissetia oleae). 




Black scale in Mass form. 



The Black Scale {Saissetia olcac). — This scale is almost a uni- 
versal pest, especially in regions adjacent to the coast, though it has 
recently demonstrated its ability to endure interior valley conditions. 
It affects citrus fruit trees and some deciduous trees as well, and a 
fungus growing on its exudation causes the black smut, which renders 
tree and fruit unsightly ; but this smut accompanies other scale insects 
as well as this one. It is especially troublesome on the olive, and will 
quickly spread to ornamental plants and vines in the garden. It is a 
very difficult scale to subdue. On citrus trees the fumigation method 
is the only practical recourse. On deciduous fruits it requires both 
winter and summer spraying to hold it in check. In spite of the fact 
that immense numbers are killed by parasites, and perhaps by fungi as 
well, it is still a grievous pest, and should be fought unceasingly. 

Soft Orange Scale (Coccus Hcspcridum). — This scale is a pest 
of citrus trees the world over. The scale is ovoid, a little wider at 
one end than the other; length, from one-twelfth to one-seventh of an 
inch ; color, dark brown on convex part, and a lighter brown surround- 
ing margin ; it has two indentations on each side, and one on posterior 
end. This scale prefers to collect on the under sides of the leaves 



562 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM 

along the midrib, the upper sides being covered with smut. It for- 
tunately is usually held in check by natural agencies. 




Brown apricot scale (Eulecanium armeniacum). 

Brown Apricot Scale. — The apricot tree, though defying the 
most ruinous scales of some other trees, is beset by certain scales. 
The black scale is one and the brown apricot scale another. The 
brown apricot scale (Eulecanium Armcniacnni) is boat-shaped; when 
reaching maturity, wrinkled ; the color is a shiny brown, darker in 
the center, lighter at the edges. A full-sized scale has a length of a 
quarter of an inch, and a width of one-eighth of an inch. This scale 
attacks nearly all kinds of deciduous fruits, but especially the prune 
and apricot. It is a very hardy scale, and the remarks about the black 
scale apply to it also. 




Hemispherical scale (Saissetia hemispherical). 

Other Lecaniums. — There are several other scales on fruit trees ; 
The filbert scale {Jiemispliericum), which is common in greenhouses 
and occurs to limited extent on citrus trees ; the frosted scale 
{pruinosiim) , very large oval and convex, covered with dense, whitish 
bloom, occurs on deciduous fruit trees. 



VARIOUS SCALE INSECTS 563 

Cottony Cushion Scale or Fluted Scale (Icerya purchasi). — This 
promised at one time to be the most grievous of all scales in its rapid 
increase and wide range of food plants, but it was speedily reduced by 
an Australian ladybird, Novins (Vcdalia) cardinalis, introduced by 
Albert Koebele, with such success that specimens were for a number 
of years rarely seen, but have recently become abundant in some 
localities. 




Frosty scale (Eulecanium pruinosan). 

Mealy Bugs. — Closely allied to the scales are the mealy bugs 
(species of dactylopius), soft and of a pale pink color, generally cov- 
ered with a whitish mealy powder, hence the name. The common 
species is found in nearly every greenhouse in the world, and in Cali- 
fornia climate lives in the open air on many kinds of plants, and has at 
various times proved quite troublesome. Unless checked by natural 
enemies, the mealy bugs multiply very rapidly, and mass themselves 




Physokermes scale on cherry. 

in the corners of the leaves. The plants turn black from the fungus 
growth growing on the honeydew, and the bush presents the same ap- 
pearance as a scale-infested plant. With the aid of a magnifier the ap- 
pearance of the mealy bugs, as different from scales can be readily 
recognized. 

Remedies for Scale Insects. — Though most of the scale insects 
are attacked by parasitic and predaceous insects, as already stated, 
these natural agencies have generally not proved rapid enough to cope 
with the increase of the scales, and insecticides have to be employed 
to save the fruit and trees. There is a vast number of these washes, 
many of which will do good work if thoroughly applied, which is 
usually the secret of success. A few which have proved of special 
value will be given at the close of this chapter. 



564 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

INSECTS BORING IN TWIG, STEM, OR ROOT 

Peach Twig-Borer or Peach Worm. — This larva is probably 
the most serious insect pest that the California peach grower has had to 
contend with. The creature hibernates as a young larva in burrows 
in the crotches of the tree. 

As soon as the tree begins to grow in the spring the larva be- 
comes active, eats its way out of its winter home and bores into the 
new growing twigs causing them to wither and die. Later genera- 
tions of the worm attack the fruit and from the two forms of attack 
much loss may accrue to the orchardist. 

Destruction of the larvae in their winter burrows overcomes all 
damage from these pests. This can be accomplished by spraying with 
the lime-sulphur compound in the late winter or very early spring 
when the buds are expanding. 

The Common Borer, — An insect which has done vast injury in 
this State is the "flat-headed apple borer" (chrysobothris femorata). 
It affects chiefly apples, peaches and plums, etc., which have been 
injured by sunburn. It is a pale-colored grub with a brown head, 
the forepart of the body being greatly flattened. The matured beetle 
is greenish black or bronze colored, copper colored on the under side. 
If any tree receives any damage to the bark, either by sunburn or other 
causes, the borer is sure to find it, and it works itself into the tree, its 
castings being the only guide to its presence. The best remedy is pre- 
vention by protection from sunburn, as described in Chapter XI. 
Whenever a borer is removed, the debris and dead wood should be 
entirely cleaned out and the smooth surface left, taking care to pre- 
serve the bark as much as possible. Then the wound should be 
smeared over with grafting wax, and a rag tied about it. In this 
manner young trees have been saved, but if seriously attacked, it is 
better to put in a sound tree and protect it. 

Sun-Scald Borer. — Another borer which delights in sunburned 
trees is a minute beetle, making a burrow hardly larger than a pinhole. 
It is known as the sun-scald beetle (Xyloborits xylograplnis). The 
remedy, as in the former case, is to prevent injury to the bark, for this 
precedes the attack of the beetle. 

The Olive Twig-Borer. — A reddish brown beetle boring into 
twigs of olive and other orchard trees, and grape canes, at the axils 
of the leaves. It is Polycaon confertus, and it breeds in decaying logs 
and stumps and old grape-vines, apparently visiting the fruit trees 
merely to gratify its appetite. Its work is not fatal to the tree, but 
unless proper pruning and attention be afterwards given, it may spoil 
the shape of the young tree. Remove the affected branches below the 
burrows of the beetle, or if it would be difficult to replace a branch, 



THE PEACH WORM 



565 



see that the beetle is destroyed and the entrance to the hole stopped up 
— this to prevent decay and a weak branch following. Spraying with 
ill-smelling solutions may prevent their attack, but the insect has not 
been sufficiently abundant to invite serious effort thus far. 




Peach twig showing winter burrow, natural size. 

Peach Crown-Borer. — A grub boring into peach trees just below 
the ground surface, its presence being shown by copious gumming. 
The insect, which has become quite troublesome in Santa Clara county, 
resembles the Eastern crown-borer of the peach, but is a distinct species 



r?s?e^ 




Peach worm burrow laid open, the worm beginning spring work — greatly 

enlarged 



{Sanninoidea opalcsccns). The best methods of suppressing this insect 
arc three. A preventive treatment consists in coating the base of the 
tree a few inches below the surface and a foot above with a whitewash, 
with a pint of coal tar to each five pounds of quicklime, put in while 
the lime is slacking. More recently the application of asphaltum "grade 



566 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



D," applied warm, has been made with good results. This should be 
done in April. A killing treatment which has proved effective and safe 
to the tree is carbon bisulphide, when wisely used. Mr. Ehrhorn gives 
these precautions : 

Carbon bisulphide should not be applied when the soil is wet or just before 
a rain, nor just after cutting out borers and putting on lime and other pre- 
ventives. Avoid putting it on the bark of the tree. Procure a machine oiler 
which will hold about eight ounces of carbon bisulphide, remove the soil around 
the trunk of the tree about six inches wide and six inches deep, being sure 
to detach all soil adhering to the trunk of the tree. After this is done, fill in 
this space with loose soil to the level aeain. Now squirt the liquid a few times 
from one to one and one-half inches away from the bark around the tree, and 
cover immediately with six inches of soil. Borers have been killed in from 
twenty hours to three days ; after they are found to be dead, the soil should be 
removed from around the trees so that any remaining fumes of bisulphide can 
be dissipated. 

The method in most general use is known as the "worming process." This 
consists essentially in carefully cutting out and killing the individual borers. 
Special tools have been devised for this work. A full description of these 
f^rocesses can be found in Bulletin 143, University of California, College of 
Agriculture. 




A nearly full-grown larva of the Peach-tree Borer. Magnified four diameters. 



Strawberry Root-Borer. — The larva of another clear-winged 
moth (Aegeria impropria), boring into the root of the strawberry 
plants, found in various portions of the State, and doing considerable 
damage, forcing the growers to resort to replanting much earlier than 
otherwise would be necessary. Flooding the vines has a great tendency 
to kill out the worms, and if the water was retained, say four or five 
days during the winter, all over the plants, doubtless all the larvae 
would be killed. 

Currant and Gooseberry Borer. — A white worm eating out the 
central pith of currant and gooseberry plants — the larva of another 
clear-winged moth (Aegeria tipuliformis). Spraying with whale-oil 
soap after the crop is gathered, pruning out and burning in the fall 
of all old wood which can be spared, will redttce the evil. 

The Raspberry Cane Borer. — This intruder is one of the family 
Tenthredinideae, or saw flies. The very small maggot or larva will be 
found by peeling the bark carefully. This larva can not crawl, there- 
fore if the tips be cut and the worm is taken out he will die. A better 



VARIOUS BORERS 567 

way is to cut all tips, as fast as they show signs of wilting, and burn 
them. Thorough' work in topping is absolutely necessary, so as to be 
sure that none of the worms remain to produce flies. Topping causes 
the canes to throw out laterals, thus producing more fruit. The canes 
are not affected after July. 



INSECTS DEVOURING THE PULP OF FRUITS 

The Apple Worm. — The codlin moth {Carpocapsa pomonella) is 
one of the great pests of the State. It preys chiefly upon the apple 
and pear, but the quince and other large fruits are sometimes invaded 
by it. The first moths appear at some time after the blossoming of 
the apple, and deposit their eggs on the young fruit, or on adjacent 
leaves. The young worm hatches in from seven to ten days, generally 
seeks the eye or calyx, and eats its way into the fruit, and in twenty 
days its full growth is attained, and it goes out through the side of 
the apple, and, by means of its spinnaret, reaches the ground or some 
large branch. If landed on the ground, it usually seeks the trunk, 
which it ascends and soon finds a hiding-place under the loose bark, 
where it spins its cocoon, and in eight or ten days comes forth a moth, 
ready to lay eggs anew. The Qg^ is laid all over the fruit and especially 
at a point where two fruits touch. Usually we have in this State two 
l)roods, at least, but sometimes three, and, naturally, if unchecked, the 
increase from the first to the last is enormous. The worms escaping 
from the fruit in the fall hibernate as larvae under the loose bark of 
the tree, or in store-houses, or in any available dry place. 

On the basis of long experience in the Watsonville district Mr. 
W. H. Volck, county entomologist, gives the following outline of opera- 
tions against the apple worm : 

There are two broods in a season. The first develops from worms that 
have wintered over in protected places both above and in the ground. The 
moths of the first generation begin emerging in April, but very few eggs are 
laid before the middle of May. In this locality egg-laying is then continuous 
until the last of June. 

The full-grown worms of the first generation after emerging from the apples 
seek some hiding place where they may rest for a few days, transforming into 
pupa and then into full-grown moths. 

The moths of the second generation begin laying eggs early in August and 
may continue to do so as late as October or November. It is the worms of the 
second generation that do the greatest amount of damage. 

The codlin moth lays its eggs on the surface of the leaves and fruit. The 
eggs are about the size of a small pin-head, circular and flat. The color varies 
from white to pink and red. These eggs are easily seen when the observer 
knows what to look for. 

The young worms hatch from the eggs about ten _ days after laying, and 
then begin crawling about in search of fruit to burrow into. This short period 
between the hatching of the egg and the entrance into the apple is the only 
time that spraying operations can prove effective. It is clearly impossible to 
accomplish anything by the use of sprays that will only kill by contact, for 



568 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



such sprays would have to be applied nearly every day. The spraying opera- 
tion must then leave a deposit of some substance on the fruit that will kill 
the worms when they attempt to burrow through the rind. The only substance 
now known that answers these requirements are the compounds of arsenic. 




The Codlin moth — natural size and greatly enlarged. 



Arsenic is, however, poisonous to plants and must be applied with caution. 
The arsenic compound used must be entirely insoluble in water, and not subject 
to weathering, in order that it shall be perfectly safe. The wet fogs of the 
Pajaro valley summers give arsenical spray compounds a very severe test and 
it has been found that only the best quality of arsenate of lead is able to stand 
it. Arsenate of lead may do very severe burning, however, if it is not of the 
proper quality. 

It is a well known fact that a large percentage of the worms of the first 
generation enter at the blossom ends of the apples. This part is protected or 
more or less closed over by the leaves of the calyx. 

The calyx cups close very shortly after the petals fall, and so it is advised 
by the best authorities to spray as soon after the falling of the blossoms as 
possible in order to leave a deposit of poison there. In the Pajaro valley and 
adjoining sections weather conditions often prevent spraying at this time, but 
where possible to apply, the calyx cup spraying is advised. 

Good results have been obtained by spraying in the early part of May, 
which is considerably after the calyx cups have closed. Spraying at this time 
gives much the same effect as the calyx cuo application, especially where it is 
applied with proper thoroughness. This early spraying is applied before any 
worms have appeared and is intended merely to have the poison in readiness for 
the insects when they do come. 

The first codlin moth spraying should contain Bordeaux Mixture as a pre- 
caution against the scab : 

Bordeaux Mixture — Copper sulphate 3 pounds, lime 4 pounds, water 50 
gallons. 

Arsenate of Lead — Use 2y2 to 3 pounds of arsenate of lead to each 50 gallons 
of Bordeaux. 

The Bordeaux Mixture should be prepared first, and enough space left m 
the tank to allow for the addition of the arsenate of lead and the water required 
to mix it. 

The second spraying should be applied from the last of May to the first 
ten days in June, and is intended to augment the effect of the first spraying 
by further covering the rapidly expandiug fruit. 



SPRAYING FOR THE APPLE WORM 569 

For this spraying use 2 pounds of arsenate of lead to 50 gallons of water. 
No Bordeaux should be used with this spraying, for the previous sprayings 
containing Bordeaux will have controlled the scab, and the further use of the 
fungicide is likely to russet the apples. 

Very few eggs are laid during July, so if the second spraying has been 
applied about the first of June it should suffice to control the first generation 
attack. The second generation worms begin to appear about the first of August, 
so a spraying is due at this time. 

For the third spraying, use 2 pounds of arsenate of lead to 50 gallons of 
water. 

If the apples are to remain on the trees through September they should 
receive another spraying about the first of this month. 

For the fourth spraying, if the other three have been applied according to 
directions, use l^'i pounds of arsenate of lead to 50 gallons of water. 

The schedule of sprayings above laid out should control the codling moth 
under average conditions, and even wliere the insect is extremely abundant 
should yield 95 per cent clean fruit. 

The codlin moth is much affected by weather conditions, and if there is a 
large amount of cold fog during the summer the damage will be much reduced. 

The Peach Worm. — As already stated, the larva of the peach 
moth, which early in the spring bores into the twigs, is sometimes 
found later in the season in the flesh of the peach. Hence the import- 
ance of saving the fruit by proper treatment of the hibernating worms 
which emerge as the blossom buds are opening. 

The Diabrotica. — A light green beetle with twelve spots on his 
back (Diabrotica soror), is sometimes very injurious to early fruit, 
by eating into it when ripe. The insect also eats leaves and blossoms. 
As the insect attacks the fruit just as it is ready to pick, it is impossible 
to apply any disagreeable or poisonous spray. Sometimes the insects 
are driven away by dense smoke from fires in and around the orchard. 

The Dried Fruit Worm. — Dried fruit is often seriously injured 
after packing, by a small worm, larva of a moth not yet determined. 
The eggs are deposited on the fruit either while drying or while in the 
packing-house, or through the cloth of the sacks, or seams of the 
package. The eggs may be killed on the fruit before packing, by 
dipping in boiling water, or by heating in an oven and after that pre- 
venting the access of the moth. Infested fruit can also be treated by 
bisulphide vapor, the method being the same as described for nursery 
stock below. 

ANTS AND YELLOW JACKETS 

These insects are often of serious trouble during fruit drying. 
Ants are most efifectually disposed of by slightly opening their holes 
in the ground by thrusting down a crowbar and pouring in a couple 
of ounces of carbon bisulphide and closing again with earth. Yellow 
jackets also nest in the ground in old squirrel or gopher holes, and 
they too can be suffocated with carbon bisulphide or by pouring in 
gasoline or kerosene and firing it. Hornets which nest in trees are 
troublesome, but are much less numerous than the cave-dwelling species. 

To destroy yellow jackets by trapping and poison is also feasible. 
W. F. Moyer, of Napa, proceeds in this way : 



570 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Make a thin fruit syrup by mashing the boihng ripe fruit, strain it and add 
a little sugar. Place the syrup dishes on the drying ground where the "jackets" 
are thickest. When the top of the syrup is covered with drowned and drowning 
"jackets," scoop them out with the hand, and crush them with the foot. They 
won't sting unless you pinch them. As the syrup evaporates fill up the dishes 
with water. If a day or two should elapse when no fruit is cut, be sure the 
traps are well cared for, as they will swarm around them thicker than ever, 
especially if the weather is hot. For dishes to place the syrup in, cut kerosene 
cans so as to make two cans, each about six and one-half inches deep. 

Poisoning to carry destruction to the young brood is also practicable. 

Dr. J. H. Miller, of San Leandro, saved his fruit in this way: 

I bought half a dozen beef livers, five pounds of arsenious acid and several 
pounds of baling wire. Cutting the liver into pieces as large as a man's fist, 
I put them into a hot solution of arsenious acid, and, bending the wire into 
a hook at each end, I suspended the pieces from the lower limbs of trees all 
around my drying-ground. The fruit was soon deserted, and the little insects 
busily working at the fragrant liver. The insects carried pieces of the liver 
to their nests, and besides causing the death of those that had been destroying 
my fruit, the next generation of yellow jackets was also destroyed, and so 
complete was the destruction that there were not enough of the little pests in 
that neighborhood the following year to require a repetition of the treatment. 
There is no risk in so using the poison, for the yellow jackets will not return 
to the fruit, and bees will not go near the meat. 

DISINFECTING NURSERY STOCK 

Cuttings, scions, young trees and vines, etc., can be freed from 
insects by inclosing in a tight box or cask and placing a saucerful of 
carbon bisulphide on the top of them, covering it with canvas or any 
tight-fitting cover. The bisulphide vapor will destroy all insect life in 
forty minutes. 

Disinfecting such materials on a larger scale may be done in this 
way: 

Use square canvas sheets, sixteen to twentv feet in diameter, made of the 
best ducking, double stitched and then painted with boiled, linseed oil to make 
it gas proof. The canvas must be perfectly dry before it is rolled up, or it 
is liable to be destroyed by spontaneous combustion. To fumigate evergreen 
stock use one ounce of cyanide of potassium (in lumps, not pulverized), one 
fluid ounce of commercial sulphuric acid, and two fluid ounces of water to 
one hundred cubic feet of enclosed space. For deciduous and hardy trees, when 
dormant, use one-fourth more of each of the above. When the canvas has 
been placed over the stock to be fumigated, prepare the charge. Take a three or 
four-gallon glazed earthenware jar, into which pour the necessary quantity of 
water, then the sulphuric acid, and place it well under the canvas, the edges of 
which arc secured with soil or in some way so as to prevent the gas escaping, with 
the exception of the edge immediately in front of the jar. The proper amount 
of cyanide of potassium is then dropped into the jar from a long scoop, and 
the tent is immediately closed, and remains so for one hour. 

INSECTICIDES 

It is hoped that this chapter will convey useful hints in the war- 
fare against insects. Whenever questions arise which are not met 
thereby, appeal should be made to the University Experiment Station 
at Berkeley. A condensed statement of useful insecticides is issued 
by the Station, prepared by Professor H. J. Quayle, as follows : 



various insecticides 571 

1. Lime Sulphur: 

Quicklime, 33 pounds ; sulphur, 66 pounds ; water, 200 gallons. 
Sift sulphur through box with screen bottom into boiling tank with 
50 gallons of water. Add the lime and boil 45 minutes to one hour. 
Stir frequently. Strain through cheese cloth or burlap and dilute to 
make 200 gallons. If extra lime is desired strain in milk of lime when 
spray is ready for use. 

2. Commercial Lime Sulphur: 

If of 32° Baume dilute 1 to 9. If 36° dilute 1 to 11. 
Either of the above for San Jose and other armored scales to be 
applied during dormant season, preferably in early winter or early 
spring. For l^each Moth, as the buds are expanding in the spring. 

3. Distillate 28° to 34° Baume: 
Distillate, 10 to 20 gallons ; water, 200 gallons. 

For use only with power sprayer with good agitator, which is neces- 
sary to make a mechanical mixture of the oil and water. 

For the Brown Apricot, Black, and other unarmored scales, and for 
Woolly Aphis, to be applied during dormant season, preferably in early 
winter. 

4. Distillate Potash : 

Distillate, 10 gallons ; lye or caustic soda, 5 pounds ; water, 200 gallons. 
Preparation and uses same as under 3. Has the advantage of free- 
ing tree from moss. 

5. Distillate Emulsion : 

Stock emulsion: Hot water, 12 gallons; fish oil (see 10) or whale-oil 
soap, 30 pounds; distillate 30° to 34°, 20 gallons. 

Add soap to hot water in spray tank with agitator going. After 

soap is dissolved add oil slowly, keeping mixture agitated. Pump out 

through nozzle at 175 pounds pressure in storage tank. 

For use take: Stock emulsion, 11 gallons; blackleaf 40, 1 pint; water, 
200 gallons. 

Place oil emulsion in spray tank, start agitator and add the water. 

When diluted add the Blackleaf. 

For thrips, Black Peach Aphis, and other plant lice. 

6. Kerosene Emulsion : 

Dissolve >2 pound soap in 1 gallon hot water; add 1 gallon kerosene. 
Mix thoroughly with spray pump by turning nozzle back into mix- 
ture. 

a. For plant lice and other sucking insects during growing season, 
dilute with 15 to 25 gallons water. 

b. For scale insects, Woolly Aphis and other sucking insects during 
dormant season, dilute with 5 to 10 gallons water. 

For use on small scale with hand sprayer. 



572 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

6a. Kerosene Emulsion. Kitchen formula : 

Dissolve 1 inch cube soap in 1 pint hot water ; add 1 pint kerosene. Churn 
with egg beater. 

For growing plants, dilute to 2 or 3 gallons water. For dormant 
plants, 1 gallon. 

7. MisciBLE Oils : 

Commercial preparations of oil so treated as to mix directly with 
water. Follow directions on container. Uses same as 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 
and 10. 

8. Straight Kerosene or Water White Oil : 

Water white oil (42° Baume) or kerosene, 20 gallons ; water, 200 gallons. 
In use for scale insects of citrus trees. Application by power outfit. 

9. Soap Solution : 

Soap, 1 pound; water, 5 to 15 gallons. 
Whale-oil or fish-oil soap preferable, but for small amounts any 
yellow laundry soap will answer. 

For plant lice and other sucking insects during summer. 

9a. Soap Solution. Kitchen formula: 
1% inch cube soap; 1 gallon warm water. 

10. Homemade Soap : 

Water, 6 gallons; lye (98%), 2 pounds; fish oil, V/2 gallons. 

Add lye to water in boiler. When dissolved and water boiling, pour 
in the fish oil, stirring in mean time, and boil slowly for two hour's. 
This will give about 40 pounds soap. 

For use dilute with 5 to 15 gallons water for each pound. 

For same pests as No. 9. 

11. Tobacco or Nicotine: 

a. Blackleaf 40 (40% nicotine), 1 pint; water, 200 gallons. 

b. Tobacco stems, 1 pound ; water, 4 gallons. 

Steep stems in 1 gallon warm water and dilute to 4 gallons. 

For plant lice and other sucking insects during growing season. 
For Woolly Aphis and Peach Aphis underground. A liberal solution, 
or the dry dust in early winter, about the base of the tree, the surface 
soil first being removed. 

12. Tobacco Soap: 

Blackleaf 40, 1 pound (1-10 gal.) ; cresol soap, 1 gallon — or 

Whale-oil soap, 10 pounds ; water, 200 gallons. 
The cresol soap requires no heating. 
Uses same as 11. Penetrating and wetting power better. 

13. Lime Sulphur Tobacco: 

Commercial lime sulphur 36°, 2.1 gallons; blackleaf 40, 14 fluidounces ; 
water, 200 gallons. 

For Orange Thrips. 

14. Carbolic -Lime: 

Quicklime, 150 pounds; crude carbolic acid, 2 gallons; water, 200 gallons. 
For Pear Thrips. 



various insecticides 573 

15. Sulphur: 

a. Dry. Thoroughly dust over foliage, preferably when moist with dew. 

Hydrated lime about equal parts with sulfur will increase adhesiveness. 

b. Spray. Sulfur, 30 pounds; lime (as milk of lime), 15 pounds; water, 200 

gallons. 
c. Spray. Commercial lime sulphur, 4 to 5 gallons; water, 200 gallons. 
For Red Spiders and Silver Mite. 

16. Le.\d Arsenate : 

Lead arsenate, 6 to 12 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
First mix arsenate with 2 or 3 gallons of water. 

For Codlin Moth and most defoliating insects. 
16a. Lead Arsenate. Kitchen formula : 

Lead arsenate, 1 tablespoonful (1 oz.) ; water, 1 gallon. 

1 7. Paris Green : 

Paris green. 1 1-3 to 2 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
For Codlin Moth and most defoliating insects. 
Not to be used along- coast or moist situations where injury is 
likely to result to foliage. 

17a. Paris Green. Kitchen formula: 

Paris green, 1 teaspoonful (^ oz.) ; lime, 3 tcaspoonfuls ; water, 2 gallons. 

18. Zinc Arsenite: 

Zinc arsenite, 2 to 6 pounds ; water, 200 gallons. 
A powerful poison for resistant insects, as the Tussock Moth, or 
for early .spraying for Canker Worm and Codling Moth in the dry 
interior climates. 
19a. Poisoned Bait. Kitchen formula : 

Bran, 10 pounds ; Paris green, 1 pound — or 

White arsenic, J^ pound ; molasses, 14 gallon ; water, 2 gallons. 

Mix paris green with the bran dry. Add the molasses to the water 
and mix into the bran, making a moist paste. 

For Cut Worms and Grasshoppers, distribute a small handful about 
the base of the vine or tree, or scatter about plants in the garden. May 
be distributed broadcast for Grasshoppers and Army Worms. 

20. Carbon Bisulphide: 

For treatment of stored products and underground insects. 
Usual dosage, 1 pint to 1,000 cubic feet space. 

Place liquid in saucers or shallow vessels above material to be 
treated. Inflammable ; avoid lights. 

For underground insects, a tablespoonful in holes 3 or 4 feet apart. 

21. Resin Dipping Solution : 

Resin, 20 oounds; caustic soda or Ive, 8 poimds ; fish oil, 3 pints; water, 
100 gallons. 

Boil resin and caustic soda in 50 gallons of water for 1 hour. Dilute 
to 100 gallons. 

In use for dipping citrus nursery stock for scale insects and Red 
Spiders. 

Kerosene emulsion and lime sulphur solution also used for dipping 
deciduous nursery stock. 



CHAPTER XL 

DISEASES OF TREES AND VINES 

A few suggestions concerning pathological conditions which arise 
in trees and vines and prescription of treatment and remedies may be 
helpful : First, diseases demonstrated to be caused by fungi and 
bacteria ; second, abnormal conditions, of which the causes are not 
yet clear. 





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K ^KBSW^M^- '.^^^^^I^^H 


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Effect of mildew on young growth of grape vine. 



Powdery Mildews. — Fungi which bring upon the leaf surface the 
appearance of a whitish powder and afterwards cause the leaf to curl 
and dry without producing marked swelling, perforation or discolora- 
tion, can be checked by the use of sulphur. The chief of these is the 
mildew of the grape, the mildew of the apple, appearing chiefly on 
the young growth, etc. The way to use sulphur for these fungi is to 
throw finely ground or sublimed sulphur on the young foliage at the 
first sign of the trouble, either by hand or with suitable machinery 
which is fully discussed in Bulletin 186 of the California Experiment 
Station. 

574 



LEAF SPOT FUNGI 



575 



Leaf-Spotting, Puncturing or Deforming Fungi, — These classes 
are usually distinguishable by the results they produce. The mildew 
of the peach produces dense, whitish patches on the leaves and grow- 
ing fruit; the curl-leaf fungus of the peach produces swellings and 
contortions of the leaf; the scab of the apple and pear produces first 
a smoky appearance on the leaf and afterwards causes black scabby 
patches on the fruit and on the young twigs; the slot-hole fungus of 




Effect of brown rot on fruit and twigs of apricots. 



the apricot, plum, cherry, and almond cuts roundish holes in the leaves 
as though a shotgun had been discharged through the foliage, and 
then, in the case of the apricot, produces roundish, dark red pustules 
on the fruit ; the brown rot which attacks both twigs and fruit of apri- 
cots, prune, blackberry, etc., produced eruptions on plums and peaches ; 
the rust fungi of the under sides of the leaves, first of a yellowish or 
orange color, changing to dark brown or black, and causing the leaf 
to fall. These fungi are only slightly, if at all, checked by the dry 
sulphur treatment, and are best subdued by the use of copper solutions : 



576 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

The Bordeaux Mixture. — Lime, four pounds; bluestone (sulphate of copper), 
four pounds ; water, forty gallons. Use part of the water to slake the lime and 
dissolve the bluestone, which should be done in separate vessels. The bluestone 
should not be put in a metal vessel. If put into a bag and suspended near the 
surface of the water, it will dissolve more readily, or hot water may be used 
in_ making the solution. Both should be cold when mixed, and the resultant 
mixture will be a beautiful blue wash. If mixed hot, a black compound (copper 
oxide) is produced, which reduces the value of the wash. After thorough 
mixing of the solutions, water should be added to bring the bulk up to forty 
gallons. 

This is safe to use on foliage. It may be used much stronger when 
trees are dormant — as strong as ten pounds of lime and ten pounds 
of bluestone to forty gallons of water to kill spores of fungi on the 
bark, but the chief advantage of the stronger mixture is not directly 
in spore-killing but in the longer resistance to removal by rains. This 
winter treatment is a successful preventive of curl-leaf on the peach, 
shot-hole on the apricot, scab on the apple and pear, rust on the 
prune, etc. In the case of the peach blight, which is an invasion of 
the young bark by the shot-hole fungus, an autumn spraying is imper- 
ative to protect the dormant twigs.* When the fungus survives winter 
treatment or when it attacks the fruit, as in case of the apricot partic- 
ularly, or the leaf in the peach, there should follow the weaker Bor- 
deaux in the spring or summer, as early as indications of the diseases 
may appear. In spraying for apple and pear scab, the addition of 
five pounds of lead arsenate to each one hundred gallons of the Bor- 
deaux Mixture makes the application answer also for the codlin moth, 
as described in the preceding chapter. 

When it is desirable to use a fungicide on fruit near the picking 
season, or on ornamental plants, which would be disfigured with the 
lime wash, the ammonical copper carbonate may be submitted for the 
Bordeaux Mixture, viz. : Copper carbonate, four ounces ; ammonia, 
forty ounces ; water forty gallons. 

The usual way of making this wash is to dissolve copper carbonate 
in ammonia, and then dilute. If the carbonate is not fully dissolved 
before the water is added, it can not be further dissolved, and not 
only is the carbonate wasted, but the fluid will not be up to standard 
strength. It is well, therefore, to give the ammonia ample time to 
act, say over night, before adding the water. 

The lime, salt and sulphur mixture, as already prescribed for scale 
insects in the preceding chapter, is an active fungicide for winter use. 
It is sometimes a satisfactory curl-leaf preventive in the interior valleys 
especially. 



* Consult Bulletin 191 of the University Experiment Station on "California Peach 
Blight." 



BLIGHTS AND DECAYS 577 

Toadstool Destruction. — Trees are often destroyed through in- 
vasion by toadstool fungi from the decaying roots or wood with which 
their roots come in contact. The injury is often not detected until the 
tree is ruined and it is too late for treatment. If only part is affected, 
the disease may sometimes be arrested by cutting away the diseased 
parts and disinfection of the exposed tissue with the Bordeaux Mixture. 

Moss, Lichens, etc., on the Bark. — It has been clearly shown by 
investigation at the University Experiment Station that the growth of 
moss, etc., upon the bark of fruit trees is a decided injury. All trees 
should be assisted to maintain clean, healthy bark. This is accomplished 




Effect upon the nuts of the bacterial blight of walnuts. 



by the use of the lime, salt and sulphur mixture already prescribed for 
scale insects. It can also be done by winter spraying with caustic soda 
or potash, one pound to six gallons of water. 

Blights and Decays. — There are several blights which are trace- 
able to bacteria, parasitic growths which are not discernable as are the 
fungi, and not usually amenable to spray treatment, because they exist 
wholly within the tissues of the plant and are not reached by applica- 
tions. The blights of the pear, the black heart of the apricot, the olive 
tuberculosis, etc., are instances. Cutting back to healthy wood (with 



U 



578 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



tools dipped after each cut in corrosive sublimate, one part to one 
thousand parts of water), and burning all removed parts as the best 
treatment which can at present be prescribed. 

The walnut blight, demonstrated by Newton B. Pierce, of Santa 
Ana, to be caused by a bacterium, has so far resisted treatment. The 
disease also affects the leaves and young wood. The recourse seems 
walnut ; generally worst at the blossom end and usually first seen 
there early in the season ; later the spots run together and encompass 
considerable areas of the surface. As the disease progresses the nut is 
transformed into a hateful black mass and is utterly destroyed. The 
disease also affects the leaves and young wood. The recourse seems 
to be toward resistant varieties, as stated in the chapter on the walnut. 

Lemon Rot, a fungus disease destructive to the fruit in the 
orchard and during curing or in transit, is fully expounded in Bulletin 
190 of the University Experiment Station. 




Crown knot on peach just below ground 



DIE-BACK AND GUM DISEASE 



579 



DISEASES NOT TRACEABLE TO 
PARASITIC GROWTHS 

There are a number of prominent troubles which are not traceable 
to parasitic invasion of any kind, and yet may be in some cases pro- 
moted by bacterial growth invited by preceding conditions. 

Sour Sap. — There is a fermentation of the sap, quite noticeable 
by its odor, which may be found in all parts of the tree, from the 
root to the topmost twigs ; sometimes in one part and not in another. 
Sour. sap in the root is generally due to standing water in the soil, and 
the remedy is drainage. Trees thus affected make an effort to grow 
and then the young growth shrivels. Severe cutting back of the top 
to reduce evaporation until the roots can restore their feeding fibers 
is the only treatment of the tree, and its success depends upon the 
extent of the root injury. Sour sap may also be caused in the branches 
by the occurrence of frost after the sap flow has actually started. Cut- 
ting back the diseased parts, as soon as discovered, to sound wood, is 
the proper treatment. 

Die-Back. — Dying back of twigs or branches may occur without 
parasitic invasion through root-weakness or partial failure. It may 




Tuberculosis of the olive. 



580 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



be due to standing water or to lack of soil moisture, either of which 
will destroy the root-hairs and bring the tree into distress. The treat- 
ment is cutting back to sound wood and correcting the soil conditions, 
either by irrigation or drainage, as one or the other may be needed 
to advance vigorous growth in the tree. 

Gummosis. — This is a convenient term to designate the gumming 
which is seen on many kinds of trees. As has been said of die-back, 
gumming may result from excess of water or of drouth in the soil 




The peach blight — twigs from sorayed and unsprayed trees. 



ROOT KNOT 581 

Gumming is, therefore, not considered in itself a disease, but rather 
an indication of conditions unfavorable to the thrifty growth of the 
tree. It has been usually found by investigation that trees in perfect 
condition of health, with the moisture just enough and not excessive, 
are not troubled with gumming; but there are cases in which this 
statement does not wholly apply. There is very much in this connec- 
tion which is not fully demonstrated as yet and the University Plant 
Disease Laboratory, at Whittier, is undertaking careful and wide 
studies of which preliminary results appear in the University Bulletin 
No. 200. When there is an outbreak of gum where it can be treated 
it is desirable to cleanly remove all the unhealthy bark — cutting clean 
to sound bark and covering the wound with paint or wax to exclude 
the air. 

Root Knots. — These are excrescences upon the roots or at the 
root crown of various trees and of grape-vines, and they have been 
a serious trouble in this State for a good many years. Some of the 
knots have been studied by experts in plant pathology and the cause 
of the trouble demonstrated to be a fungus and the disease infectious. 
A satisfactory treatment has, however, been discovered. If the knot 
has not increased in size sufficiently to seriously interfere with the 
growth of the tree it can be smoothly removed, the wound treated with 
the Bordeaux Mixture, and the knot will not reappear at the same 
place. Success has also been had with boring a hole into the knot and 
filling the hole with blucstonc solution, but some trees have been killed 
in this way. Bluestone can be used with least danger when the tree 
is dormant. 

Plant Diseases Generally. — A connected statement of California 
plant diseases by R. E. and E. H. Smith, with suggestion of treat- 
ments to suppress them, can be had by application to the University 
Experiment Station at Berkeley. 



CHAPTER XLI 

SUPPRESSION OF INJURIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS 

The beasts of the field and the fowls of the air are sometimes such 
grievous trespassers upon the fruit plantation that protection has to 
be sought against them. The animals which figure in this evil work 
are mainly species of rodentia, some of them burrowers, as, for exam- 
ple, the ground-squirrel and gopher; others, surface dwellers, like the 
hare or jackass rabbit. Occasionally there is injury done by deer in 
the orchard and vineyard, and coons in the melon patch, but these 
larger animals may usually be left to the hunters and the dogs. 



RABBITS 

Though there are three species, prevalent, none are burrowers. 
This fact has led to united efforts at their suppression by driving them, 
with mounted horsemen, from a wide stretch of country into a narrow, 
fenced inclosure, where they are killed with clubs. During the last 
few years tens of thousands have been killed in this way, and com- 
paratively few are now found in the localities where the method has 
been adopted. Still, however, there are plenty at large to vex the fruit 
planter, and he must protect himself against them. 

Rabbit Fences. — The surest protection against rabbits is a fence 
which prevents their entrance, and many miles of such fence have 
been built in this State. Several styles prevail. The ordinary board 
fence, with the boards running horizontally, is made rabit-proof by 
placing the lower boards close together, with openings of but about 




A rabbit-proof fence in successful use in the San Joaquin Valley. 



two inches between them. A barbed wire, with barbs about two 
and one-half inches apart, can be used to advantage by running it along 
at or a little below the surface of the ground to prevent scratching 
imder. 

582 



RABBIT FENCE AND POISON 583 

The cost of board fences has led to the use of barbed wire and 
wire netting, or of perpendicular slats interwoven with wire. Such 
materials are sold in large quantities. A very effective combination 
of barbed wire and netting, which is used in the upper San Joaquin 
Valley, is described as follows : 

The tall posts arc regular split redwood nosts. The intermediate small ones 
are made by sawing in two the regular posts and splitting them into eight small 
posts, or rather, large stakes. The netting is of galvanized wire. No. 19 gauge, 
and one and one-half inch mesh. This netting is stapled to the posts and stakes 
on the inside, or toward the field. This is of prime importance, as it will not 
serve the purpose if it is placed on the outside. The bottom of the netting 
is to come down to the ground, and the ground must be left hard, and not 
plowed to prevent burrowing or scratching the dirt from underneath, which 
can be easily done if the dirt is softened up. It is not at all necessary to set 
the netting below the ground. In the sketch are shown three barbed wires, 
with barbs two and a half inches apart. These wires must be placed on the 
outside of the posts. This position is also a prime necessity. The lower 
wire is stretched just clear of the surface of the ground. The middle wire 
is one inch higher than the top of the netting, and the top wire, which is 
intended only as against cattle, is at a height .suitable for the purpose. The 
rabbit-proof portion is comprised in the netting and the two lower wires. 
Hence, if cattle are not feared, and rabbits arc the only foe, the top wire can 
be dispensed with, and the posts can be all short with a greater proportion 
of stakes, having only enough stout posts to stand the strain of the wires. 
The theory of this construction is that a rabbit can only pass the fence over 
the top or under the bottom of the netting, and this is efifectually prevented 
by the barbed wires, which tear the animal if it attempts either to leap or 
climb over or to scratch under. 

Smears Distasteful to Rabbits. — A\'hcre the expense of a fence 
can not be assumed, measurable protection can be had by sprinkling 
the leaves or smearing the stems of plants with substances distasteful 
to the animals, which are quite dainty in this respect. Commercial 
aloes, one pound to four gallons of water, both sprinkled on leaves and 
painted on the bark, gives a bitter taste, which repels rabbits. A tea 
made of steeping quassia chips is said to produce the same effect. 
Rancid grease, liquid manure, putrescent flesh or blood, have been 
approved as a daub for tree trunks, but the efficacy is only of limited 
duration. 

Rabbit Poison. — Pieces of watermelon rind, cantaloupe, or other 
vegetable of which they are very fond, may be poisoned with strych- 
nine and then scattered around the orchard. Rabbits will not touch 
the bark as long as they can find this bait, and one meal is effective, 
for the rabbit never gets far away from it. The same results can be 
obtained by the following mixture : To one hundred pounds of wheat 
take nine gallons of water and one pound of phosphorus, one pound 
of sugar, and one ounce of oil of rhodium. Heat the water to boiling 
point and let it stand all night. Next morning stir in flour sufficient to 
make a sort of paste. The rabbits eat it with avidity if scattered about. 

Another preparation is half a teaspoonful of powdered strychnine, 
two teaspoonfuls of fine salt, and four of granulated sugar. Put all in 



584 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

a tin box and shake well. Pour in small heaps on a board. It hardens 
into a solid mass. They Hck it for the salt, and the sugar disguises 
the poison, which kills great numbers. 



GROUND-SQUIRRELS 

Ground-squirrels are poisoned by the use of the poisoned wheats 
which are sold in the markets, or by use of bisulphide of carbon, or 
"smokers," which are arranged to force smoke into the holes. A small 
quantity of bisulphide of carbon poured into the hole, and the hole 
closed with dirt, is probably the most effective squirrel killer, when the 
ground is wet, so that the vapor is held in the burrow. Smokers are 
also most effective when the soil is moist. When the ground is dry, 
poison is the best means of reducing squirrels. The following is an 
exceedingly effective preparation, of which a few grains should be 
placed in or near each hole : 

Take strychnine, one ounce ; cyanide of potassium, one and one-half ounces ; 
eggs, one dozen ; honey, one pint ; vinegar, one and one-half pints ; wheat or 
barley, thirty pounds. Dissolve strychnine in the vinegar ; and you will have to 
pulverize it in the vinegar, or it will gather into a lump. See that it is all dis- 
solved. Dissolve the cyanide of potassium in a little water. Beat the eggs. Mix 
all the ingredients together thoroughly before adding to the barley. Let it stand 
twenty-four hours, mi.xing often. Spread to dry before using, as it will mold if 
put away wet. 

To keep squirrels from gnawing fruit trees, or climbing and getting 
the fruit, tying a newspaper around the trunk of the tree, letting the 
paper extend out four inches at the upper edges, is said to be effective. 
The rattle of the paper when the squirrels attempt to get over it will 
frighten them. 

GOPHERS 

Gophers can often be destroyed by the use of poisoned wheat, 
especially prepared with a little oil of rhodium, which seems to be very 
attractive to all rodents. Pieces of fruits or vegetable, or the succulent 
stems of alfalfa, into which a few grains of strychnine have been in- 
serted by making a cut with a knife-blade and then squeezing it 
together again, are also handy conveyors of death to gophers. There 
are two ways to put poisoned materials into a gopher runway. One is 
to look for fresh open holes and put in the poison as far as possible 
with a long-handled spoon ; another is to take a round, pointed stick 
and shove it into the ground near the gopher mounds until it strikes 
their runway, then drop in the poisoned bait. Close up the hole with 
some grass ; level down mounds, so that if the poison does not kill all 
the gophers, you will soon discover their new mounds. If there are 
many mounds, put the poison in a number of places. 



DESTROYING GOPHERS 585 

Bisulphide of carbon is also successfully used in killing gophers, 
while the ground is wet, using an injector which is furnished with the 
poison to force the vapor through the long burrows. 

Trapping Gophers. — Some are very successful in using gopher 
traps, of which there are several styles sold. Gophers come to the 
surface in the night, and generally close their holes soon after day- 
break. They frequently emerge again about noon, and a third time 
late in the afternoon. It is best to set the trap in an open hole ; still, 
the holes may be opened if the dirt is still fresh, with a good prospect 
of the gopher's return. Therefore, the trapper may make his rounds 
three times a day, as above indicated. Care should be exercised in 
preparing the hole for the insertion of the trap, a straight hole for a 
distance of at least ten inches, with no lateral branches, otherwise the 
gopher in pushing out the dirt will likely enough thrust the trap to 
one side, cover it up, or spring it, without being exposed to its grasp. 
The trapper should be supplied with at least two varieties of traps — 
one for the larger gophers, and the other for the smaller ones. The 
common iron gopher trap, which springs downward, is excellent for 
the former, and the small wire trap, which springs upward, is generally 
successful with the latter. The size of the hole is indicative of the size 
of the gopher. Either trap should be inserted nearly its full length 
into the hole, pressed down firmly, and a little dirt piled at the outer 
end to prevent its being easily pushed out. After the trap is set, it is 
well to cover the opening with some grass or weeds. Sometimes the 
holes require a little enlarging, but care should be taken to make the 
fit as close as possible, that the body of the gopher may be kept near 
the center, and thus more exposed to the prongs of the trap. In the 
fourth place, the trapper should have a small spade and a little gouge- 
shaped instrument for trimming the hole. 

Gopher Pitfalls. — If gophers are abundant, large numbers can 
be captured in this way : Dig a trench around the orchard or vineyard 
about the width of a spade and from fourteen to sixteen inches deep. 
In the bottom of the ditches, about a hundred feet apart, sink five- 
gallon oil cans, leaving the tops level with the ditch bottom. The 
gophers migrate in the night, and in attempting to come into the 
inclosure will fall into the ditch and then run along the bottom until 
they drop into the cans. Of course the ditch must not be wider than 
the cans. As many as fifteen live gophers have been found in one can. 
The cats soon learn to help themselves out of the cans. The ditch 
must be kept clean, and if any roads cross the tract, set up a board at 
night, to compel the gophers to tumble in the ditch. This ditch should 
be constructed about the first of June, when the outside feed begins 
to dry up, and the pests rush for the cultivated ground. With such 
protection from the outside, and the use of poison and traps inside, 
the trees and vines can be saved. 



586 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

DESTRUCTIVE BIRDS 

Fruit growers generally appreciate the value of insectivorous birds, 
but there are feathered pests which do such ruinous work in disbudding 
the trees in spring-time, and in destroying ripe fruit that protective 
measures have to be adopted against them. The so-called "Cali- 
fornia linnet," which is not a linnet, but a finch (Carpodacus frontalis), 
a persistent destroyer of buds, and the English sparrow, infamous 
the world over, are probably the most grievous pests, though there are 
other destructive birds, including the beautiful California quail, which 
is protected by law, and yet must be destroyed in some parts of the 
State or the grape crop must be abandoned. 

For the killing of the smaller birds poison is usually employed, and 
it is best administered in water. Poisoned water made of one-eighth 
ounce of strychnine to three gallons of water and placed in shallow tin 
pans in the trees, has been widely approved. Cutting oranges in halves, 
spreading strychnine over the cut surface and empaling the half oranges 
on twigs high up in the apricot trees, has destroyed hundreds of linnets. 
Some advocate the use of the shotgun, No. 30 caliber, with a small 
charge of good powder and No. 10 shot. As many as five hundred 
linnets have been killed in two days. The advantage of this plan is 
that one kills linnets and not other birds, while poison kills both friends 
and foes. 



CHAPTER XLII 
PROTECTION FROM WIND AND FROSTS 

Though the cHmate of California renders unnecessary the protection 
against rigorous weather which fruit growers in some other parts of 
the world have to provide, there is often advantage in securing shelter 
from winds and protection from late frosts. 

The general subject of forest planting in California, and the effect 
of preservation and extension of our forest area upon our fruit indus- 
tries, has received the attention of our best-informed growers. The 
planting of shelter belts at intervals across our broad valleys at right 
angles to the courses of prevailing or most violent winds, has also been 
urged with great force. These greater enterprises and projects are 
beyond the scope of this treatise. It is rather concerning the planting 
of trees to shelter individual possessions that a few suggestions will 
be offered. 

It has been already remarked that on the immediate coast the 
successful growth of fruit will sometimes be wholly dependent upon 
proper shelter from prevailing winds, and in regions farther from the 
ocean the topography may induce strong currents of air which will 
illy affect trees and vines. In all such places the fruit grower should 
plant windbreaks, and will find himself well repaid for the ground they 
occupy, by the successful production on the protected area. 

In the interior valleys there is also need of shelter from occasional 
high winds which may visit the orchards either in summer or winter, 
and prove destructive both to trees and fruit. In some cases long lines 
of the sheltering trees have been cut down because they affected the 
fruiting of orchard tres planted too near them, and afterwards the 
losses through lack of protection were far -greater than would have 
been incurred by retaining them. 

What Kind of Trees to Plant. — This is a question concerning 
which there is much to be learned. Data is accumulating in the growth 
of trees planted to test their suitability, and the future planter will 
have more certain ground to proceed upon than is now available. 
Mention will be made, however, of a few trees, which are now most 
widely grown. 

The most widely-planted shelter tree is the Eucalyptus globulus, 
or Australian blue gum. It is a rapid grower and voracious feeder, 
and wonderful for root extension, for which it has been roundly abused. 
It is doubtful, however, whether we have a better tree for high growth, 
and consequent large area over which its shelter will be felt. It is 
deficient in undergrowth, and if a close screen is desired, the planting 

587 










588 



PROTECTION FROM FROST 589 

of eucalyptus and Monterey cypress (Cnprcssiis niacrocarpa) is a com- 
mon practice. The latter also attains good height, but its broad, thick 
base fills the gaps between the bare stems of the gum trees. Another 
tree which has often been planted with the blue gum, to supply a thick, 
low growth, is the pepper tree {Schiniis molle). It is also grown in 
rows by itself. It makes a dense head, grows rapidly, and flourishes 
without much care. Trees planted eighteen feet apart will soon come 
together and make a dense wall of very beautiful, bright, light-green 
foliage. The pepper is not only a good windbreak, but also an excel- 
lent dust-catcher. Unlike most trees which are used for this purpose, 
it does not become laden with dust. The leaves are smooth and glossy, 
and therefore repel the dust particles, which, stopped in their flight by 
the dense foliage of the tree, instead of clinging to it drop to the 
ground. The growth of the pepper tree near the coast is much slower 
than that of the Monterey cypress. The eucalyptus and the cypress 
for the coast, and the eucalyptus and pepper for the interior valleys, 
make, probably, as perfect a wall of foliage all the year round as can 
be had. The blue gum is, however, somewhat subject to frost killing, 
especially when young, and in very frosty places is objected to on that 
account. A number of other species of eucalyptus are now being 
planted, and are being found more hardy than the blue gum. The 
rostrata, rudis, tercticornis, polyanthcma, amyi^dali)ia, vimiiialis and 
others are of this character. 

The Monterey pine (Piiius iiisigtiis) is a rapid, high-growing tree, 
and, though a native of the coast, has proved itself well adapted to 
the interior valleys of the central portion of the State. Its foliage is 
dense for a pine, and its shelter, therefore, the more complete. A 
native white cedar (Liboccdrus dccurrens) has also been employed 
as a shelter tree in the San Joaquin Valley, and is commended as a 
rapid grower in the interior as on the coast. Its ability to stand 
drouth, heat and frost is said to exceed that of any of the conifers of 
the seacoast. It stands well in the most exposed situations, as its roots 
run very deep into the earth and it is claimed that it does not sap the 
fertility from the soil around its base, as with the blue gum. It is also 
said to be less subject to frost injury than the Monterey cypress and 
pine. 

All the foregoing are evergreen trees, and therefore afford protec- 
tion summer and winter alike. Of deciduous trees there ar many 
which may be well employed. The California black walnut makes a 
very satisfactory growth both in the interior and upon the coast, and 
is largely used for roadside planting. The California broad-leaved 
maple {Acer macro phylla) is very beautiful, rapid in growth, and 
dense in foliage, and the same is true of the box elder {Acer negrundo), 
but probably both trees are especially suited to the coast regions. Of 
the poplars, the Carolina {Populus monilifera) is best, because of its 



590 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 

breadth^ density of foilag-e, and comparative freedom from suckering. 
The locust (Robinia pseudacacia) is used to some extent, but its suck- 
ering is very objectionable. 

Quite a number of the larger-growing- deciduous fruit trees are used 
to some extent along the exterior lines of orchards for the protection 
of the inclosure. The fig, the walnut, the chestnut, seedling almonds, 
and apricots are especially commended for such use. 

Growing Trees from Seed. — Much that has been said in Chapter 
VIII will be suggestive to one who desires to grow his own shelter 
trees from seed. Trees from small seeds are best grown in boxes, and 
in many cases, as with eucalyptus and cypress especially, do best when 
put in permanent place when quite small. Whether put at once in 
permanent place, or in nursery, the land should be deeply worked and 
the young plant well planted and cared for. 

Cultivation of Shelter Trees. — If one desires rapid growth of 
shelter trees, they should be cultivated the first few years as thoroughly 
as an orchard. Much disappointment results from allowing roadside 
trees to shift for themselves in a hard, dry soil. With such treatment 
the root extension is naturally most rapid into cultivated orchard 
ground, which is undesirable. Cultivate and enrich the roadside, and 
the tree will grow chiefly on the waste land. At the same time the 
roadside will be prevented from producing vast quantities of weed seed, 
to be blown over the fence, and the place will have a name for neatness, 
which is too rare even in California. 



PROTECTION FROM FROSTS 

Much attention has been given during recent years to the protection 
of citrus fruits as they approach maturity, and of deciduous fruits as 
they are starting on their growth, from occasional fall of the mercury 
a few degrees below the freezing point. It has been shown by ample 
experience that fruits may escape injury by a temperature of 28 degrees 
if the ground surface is wet and the exposure be but of short duration. 
Fruit has, therefore, been saved by irrigation, while that over dry 
ground has been nipped by the same temperature. About the same re- 
sult has been secured by checking radiation of heat by covering the or- 
chard or vineyard with a cloud of smoke. Both these protective meas- 
ures fail when the temperature falls a few degrees below 28 degrees or 
when such freezing temperature is continued several hours. 

During recent years much progress has been made in preventing 
frost by numerous small fires distributed among the trees to be pro- 
tected and many devices to secure such distributed heat easily and 
economically are being enterprisingly promoted by inventors and man- 
ufacturers. A general statement on this subject by Dr. J. Elliot Coit, 



PROTECTION FROM FROST 591 

superintendent of the University Citrus Experiment Station at River- 
side, contains the following: 

Adding heat directly to the air through the agency of fires distributed 
throughout the orchard, has been demonstrated to be the most successful and 
practical way to handle the frost problem in commercial citrus orchards. A 
great many devices and many kinds of fuel have been experimented with, and 
the best fire so far tried is distillate oil, burned in some form of sheet-iron 
receptacle. 

Provision must be made in the frosty areas for ten hours of effective firing. 
Many small fires are much l)ctter than a few large ones. The amount of heat 
given off by pots when nearly burned out is very much less than when first 
lighted, hence it is wise to light the alternating receptacles before the first are 
burned out. Additional extra receptacles should be placed about the orchard 
and on the windward side for use in case of an emergency. Experience has 
shown that in an old, fairly thick orcliard. on a quiet night, 40 two-gallon 
receptacles per acre, burning slop distillate, will raise the temperature four 
or five degrees. With a temperature of 24° or below, it will be necessary to 
have one two-gallon receptacle per tree burning simultaneously at the coldest 
period of the night in order to save a crop of lemons. It is still better to have 
not less than 120 per acre, 40 of which can be burned early in the night, and the 
remaining 8(^ during the coldest period toward morning. p"or small isolated 
orchards, where there is little or no cumulative effect of the fires, a two-gallon 
heater to each tree with a double row around the windward side should be 
provided. This apolies to large bearing trees, which tend to hold the heat. 
With small trees, still more equipment is advisable. 

It has been demonstrated that by orchard heating properly carried on, 
citrus crops may be safely carried tliroueh nights when the temperature falls to 
20°F., at a cost which is nominal when compared to the value of the fruit. 

As this edition is being prepared it is evident that frost prevention 
by direct heat, which was first undertaken in CaHfornia about 1895. 
and has since that date been employed in otiier States, accomplished 
results in December, 1911, which bid fair to permanently enroll the 
method among accepted horticultural practices. Systematic research 
and experiment on this basis are being undertaken, the conclusions of 
which should be looked for in Experiment Station bulletins, in the 
publications of the U. S. Weather Ilurcau and in the horticultural 
journals. 



CHAPTER XLin 
UTILIZING FRUIT WASTES 

Some progress has been recently attained in the securing- of horti- 
cultural by-products from various kinds of fruit wastes. There is a 
considerable product of cream of tartar from the pomace and lees of 
the wineries in central California. In southern California citric acid 
factories have to some extent used lemons rejected in packing, and 
some other by-products of citrus fruits have been secured in small 
quantities. Vinegar from wine and cider are, of course, made here as 
everywhere in fruit countries. 

There has arisen also a profitable export demand for fruit pits and 
apricot and peach pits, which formerly were burned, are now selling 
profitably — machinery for cheap extraction of the kernels having been 
contrived by California inventors. The kernels are bought by agents 
of European manufacturers of oils and essences. Apricot kernels are 
used by confectioners in place of almonds. 

Comparative Value of Fruits, and Hay, Grains, Meals, etc. 



100 Pounds Fruit Equivalent to Pounds of 



^^ 



^ < O 

FRESH FRUITS 

Apples 34 20 24 

Oranges 33 19 23 

Pears 40 23 30 

Plums 50 30 36 

Prunes 46 27 33 

Apricots 40 23 29 

Nectarines 43 26 30 

Figs 50 30 37 

Grapes SO 30 Z7 

Watermelons .... 22 13 16 

Nutmeg Melons.. 19 11 13 

DRIED FRUITS 

Dried prunes 175 104 125 

Dried apricots 194 115 138 

Dried peaches 190 113 135 

Dried figs 186 110 132 

Raisins 216 128 153 97 100 108 103 111 103 82 59 84 



The disposition of waste fruit by growers must, however, always 
lie chiefly in the line of feeding animals unless denatured alcohol enter- 
prises should arise to consume it at prices to pay something more than 

592 



o 
U 




•5 




.Se 




o 


o <u 


O rt 

u 


15 


15 


17 


16 


18 


16 


13 


9 


13 


14 
17 


14 
18 


16 

20 


15 
19 


17 
20 


15 
19 


12 

15 


8 
11 


12 
15 


22 


24 


25 


24 


26 


24 


20 


14 


20 


20 


22 


23 


22 


24 


22 


18 


13 


18 


17 


18 


20 


19 


20 


19 


15 


11 


15 


19 


20 


22 


21 


23 


21 


17 


12 


17 


23 


24 


26 


25 


27 


25 


20 


14 


20 


23 


24 


26 


25 


27 


25 


20 


14 


20 


10 


10 


11 


11 


12 


11 


8 


6 


8 


8 


9 


9 


9 


10 


9 


7 


5 


7 


78 


82 


88 


84 


92 


84 


67 


48 


68 


86 


90 


97 


93 


102 


93 


74 


53 


• 76 


85 


88 


95 


91 


100 


91 


72 


51 


74 


83 


85 


93 


89 


97 


89 


71 


50 


72 



A BLISSFUL CONCLUSION 593 

cost of handling-. Refuse fresh fruits of all kinds, and especially refuse 
dried fruits have nutritive value which should not be lost. A statement 
of the value of various fruits as compared with various cattle foods 
has been prepared by Prof. M. E. Jaffa, of the University Experiment 
Station, in the adjacent table. 

A good average of the pitted fresh fruits is represented by prunes. 
Using the equivalents in the table above for computation, it appears 
that if wheat bran costs $15 per ton, fresh prunes would be worth as 
a substitute $3 per ton ; likewise, if cottonseed meal is selling for $21 per 
ton, the prune value would be about $2.75. At the market price of oat 
hay, the figures for fresh prunes should be nearly $3 per ton. 

The dried fruits naturally rank far above the fresh material as 
stock feed. Of the dried fruits represented in the table, raisins lead 
in food value ; containing one and one-fourth to one and one-half times 
the nutritive ingredients of alfalfa and oat hays, respectively ; 100 
pounds of the fruit being practically equal to the same quantity of 
grain, but to only eighty-two and fifty-nine pounds respectively of rice 
bran and cottonseed meal. 

Dried apricots rank slightly lower than raisins, because they contain 
more water. Apricots are, however, of equal value as a feeding stuff 
with wheat bran and almond hulls about half as much as alfalfa hay, 
bran or middlings. 

Concerning the feeding of raisins to hogs, the following statements 
are made : "With raisins selling at 2j/2 cents per pound they are much 
cheaper food for hogs than corn or barley. Raisins give the hog a 
hard sweet meat and are much sought after by the butchers. Care must, 
however, be exercised in feeding raisins to hogs, as they are full of 
sugar, and consequently too rich when fed alone. They heat the animal 
up so that the hogs lose flesh and will kill the little pigs of a farrowing 
sow. For fall and winter feeding, pumpkins, citrons and alfalfa are the 
best feed to give the hogs in conjunction wtih the raisins, but in the 
spring a change is found very beneficial. 

"Many people feedings raisins to hogs are not having the success 
they should because they overfeed their porkers. A pound of raisins 
a day is ample to start in with. After the system of the hog has become 
accustomed to the raisins the amount can be increased so that the last 
three weeks each hog should get about four pounds of raisins a day. 
The last ten days, when the finishing touches are being put on, the hogs 
should be allowed all they can get." 

Wine grapes rich in sugar have been cheaply dried on the ground 
and used to advantage for hog feed. One grower says that in 1908 
failing to get $6 per ton for his grapes, he dried them and fed them to 
hogs. Having more than the hogs required, grapes were fed to the 
horses: "The horses soon got a taste for them and seemed to thrive 
well on the new diet and in a short time became fat and sleek, while 



594 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

they were being worked as hard as ever, and we continued to feed them 
dried grapes and have kept it up for a whole year. The effect seems 
to have made the old horses five years younger, both in looks and in 
ability to work. The hogs fattened up so quick that we thought the 
pork would be soft and sloppy, but to our surprise, we never had better 
bacon and ham than was produced from these grape-fed porkers. It 
was not only solid, but sweet and tender." 

Prune-fed and raisin-fed pork is indeed an accomplished fact in 
California. As to the acceptability of the fruit diet to the hog, what 
could be more pertinent and more fitting appendix to this treatise than 
this little tale? It is stated that Mr. Balaam, of Farmersville, used to 
have a pet pig that ran under the fig trees near the house. When the 
fruit began to drop, he ate figs and rested in the shade until he finally 
grew too fat to move about to gather the sweet morsels. By this time 
his owner became so much interested in the case as to carry him his 
regular figs three times daily. Gradually he grew so fat that his eyes 
closed entirely, but still he ate figs in contentment and delight. 









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595 



INDEX 



Page 

Acorns, edible 45 

Alkaline Soils 38 

Alligator Pear 475 

Almond, The 499 

growing from seed 75 

hulling and bleaching 501 

pollination 503 

propagation 500 

pruning 501 

situations and soils 500 

wild 45 

varieties 504 

Animals, injurious 582 

Ants, killing 569 

Apple in California 224 

aphis resistant 227 

aphis woolly 558 

drying 534 

exposures for 226 

gathering 231 

irrigation 230 

localities for 234 

mildew 574 

mission 47 

native crab 40 

planting, distance 229 

picking and packing 233 

pollination 235 

propagation 226 

pruning 229 

scab or smut 575 

second crop 225 

seedlings, growing IZ 

shipping 234 

. soils for 226 

Southern California 242 

storehouse for 232 

summer and fall 233 

table of varieties 242 

thinning 141, 229, 230 

varieties, most popular 222, 242 

when to pick 231 

winter 234 

worm 567 

varieties 222, 236 to 240 

Apricot 244 

climatic requirements . . . . • 245 

diseases of • 252 

distances for 248 

drying 534 

exposures for 245 

growing seedlings 74 

irrigation 252 

localities for 245 

mission 47 



Page 
Apricot — continued 

old trees 244 

on almond root 247 

planting 248 

pruning 249 

shot-hole fungus 253, 575 

stocks and soils for 247 

table of varieties 253 

thinning 139, 251 

varieties 222, 253 to 255 

Army Worms 546 

Atmospheric humidity 23 

Banana, The 468 

Barberry, native 44 

Bear berry 44 

Bergamot 467 

Berries and currants 478 

Berries, various wild 44 

Birds, poisoning 586 

Blackberry, The 479 

cultivation 480 

hybrids 492 

distances for 479 

longevity of 483 

propagation 479 

pruning 480, 484 

wild 42 

varieties 483 

Blasting for planting 106, 149 

Borers 117, 564 

Bones, treatment of 160 

Bordeaux Mixture 576 

Brush, cutting to kill 67 

Budding, common method 81 

June •....-.... 90 

over old trees 92 

spring 84 

Bud, cutting to a 136 

Buds, dormant 90 

Buffalo berry 44 

Burbank's varieties 221, 318, 327 

Cactus fruits 45 

Canned fruit product 523 

Canning industry 524, 526 

Canker worms 548 

Caterpillars 549, 550 

Chain for laying out 104 

Chamisal and chaparral 62 

Charcoal making 67 

Cherimoyer 469 

596 



INDEX 



597 



Page 

Cherry 257 

dela\-ed fruiting of 261 

distances for 262 

exposures for 261 

gum disease 266 

grafting the 262, 265 

localities for 259 

moisture requirements 260 

old trees • 257 

pests and diseases 266 

pruning the 263 

seedlings growing li 

slug "....• 550 

soils for the 259 

stocks for the 262 

table of varieties 268 

wild 41 

varieties 222. 267, 271 

Chestnut, The 505 

seedlings 75 

wild 44 

Choco or Chayota 469 

Citron, Tlie 467 

Clearing land for fruit 62 

brushjr 66 

cost of 63 

grading 69 

steam puller 65 

stump puller 65 

with powder 65 

time to cut to kill 67 

Climate, divisions of California.... 11 
of California, characteristics of. .10, 19 

of California, whv mild 10 

foothill ■ 16 

mountain 16 

coast • • . . 13 

valley 15 

value of 24 

Cloudiness, east and west 22 

Coast pests and diseases 11 

Codlin moth 567 

Composting 162 

Corner, to find true 100 

Cover crops 167 

Cranberries 486 

wild 43 

Crops between trees or vines 145 

Crystalizing fruit 525 

Cultivation 142 

adequate 144 

hillside 149 

methods of 146 

purposes of 142 

shallow, results of 144 

summer 152, 153 

to retain moisture 142 

without plowing 152 



Page 

Currants 486 

culture of 487 

regions for 486 

varieties grown 488 

wild 42 

Custard apple 469 

Cutworms 546 

Cuttings, fruit trees from 76 

Dates 379 

at the missions 379 

bearing age of 380 

bearing in Solano Countv 380 

blooming of •...." 380, Z'iZ 

first fruit ■ 380 

from seed 381 

from suckers 382 

propagation of 381 

requirements of 380 

transplanting 382 

Dewberry 484 

Diabroticas 569 

Die-back 579 

Dormant buds 91 

Drainage desirable 68, 216 

Dried fruits (see fruits) 526 

boxes for 533 

covering 529 

cutting sheds 530 

dipping 533, 540 

drying floors 529 

grading and cleaning 530, 532 

packing 532 

product of 526 

sulphuring 530 

sweating 533 

trays for 528 

worm 533, 569 

Elderberries 42 

Evaporated Fruits 540 

Evaporator, sunshine ■ • 535 

Fertilizers in California 156 

caution in use of 157, 165 

for trees and vines 157 

methods of applying 165, 166 

value of green 167 

when necessary 157 

sources of nitrogen 161 

sources of phosphoric acid 159 

sources of potash 160 

Feijoa Sellowiana 470 

Fig 384 

bearing age 390 

budding 386 

capritication 390 

drying 534 

foes of 391 

from cuttings 386 



598 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



Page 

Fig — continued 

from seeds 389 

grafting 387 

mission 47 

planting and pruning 389 

regions for 384 

size of old trees 384 

soils for 385 

varieties 392 to 396 

Filbert growing 506 

wild 45 

Frosts, protection from 590, 591 

Fruit cultivation 142 

Fruit gardens, early 52 

Fruit industries, influence of 58 

Fruit industries, outlook of 59 

Fruit interest, extent of 54, 57 

Fruit shipments 56 

Fruit thinning 137 

Fruit tree acreage 57 

Fruit products, value of 57 

Fruits, crystallizing • 525 

drying • 526 

drying floors 529 

graders 532 

grafted, first in California 50 

locations for 12 

value as stock food 592 

Fruit shipments, eastern 56 

Fruit trees, dwarf 52 

Fruits, commercial varieties 220 

Fruits, locations for 12 

Fruits, mission 46 

Fruits, native 40 

Fruits, Russian 40 

Goat nut, or jajoba 45 

Gooseberry, The 488 

culture of 488 

requirements of 488 

varieties 489 

wild 43 

Gophers, killing 584 

pitfall for • 585 

trapping 585 

Grafting • 84 

bark' 89 

cleft 87 

root 88 

side 87 

time for 94 

top 92 

whip 88 

wax for 85 

waxed bands 86 

Graft, time to 94 



Page 

Grafts, planting out 88 

Granadilla 471 

Grape, area of 331 

budding 339 

conditions of ripening 20 

cutting grafts 347 

dibbles for planting 350 

diseases of 368 

distance 348 

from cuttings 334, 345 

from layers 334 

from seed 334 

frost injuries 367 

grafting • 340, 348 

insects • 553 

industry 330 

length of season 333 

mildew 574 

mission 47 

number per acre 349 

planting devices 351 

planting in rows 349, 352 

products 58 

pruning 355, 367 

pruning, long 364 

pruning, short 355 

resistant 342 

rooting in nursery 337 

soils for 332 

stakes, twine, etc 355 

suckering 359 

sulphuring 574 

summer pruning 360, 366 

syrup 540 

tliinning 332 

trellising 336 

varieties ..'. 223, 370 

wild 41 

wine, varieties of 375 

Grasshoppers, killing 556 

Growing season, long 24 

Guava, The 471 

Varieties : 

strawberry 471 

lemon 471 

Gummosis • 580 

Gypsum, uses of 161 

Hardpan, breaking up 106, 149 

Heat, deficient on coast 13 

importance of 19 

summer, records of 20 

Heeling in young trees Ill 

Hexagonal planting 99 

Hillside, rows on 102 

use of triangle on 103 

Holes for trees 105 



INDEX' 



599 



Page 

Huckleberries, wild 43 

Humiditv, atmospheric 23 

deficient 26 

east and west 23 

excessive 23 

Insects, injurious 545 

Insects, remedies 571 

Irrigation 171 

distributing manure by 166 

ditches ' 206 

drainage and 216 

evils of excessive 172 

flooding 184 

for citrus fruits 177 

for deciduous fruits 176 

flume building for 201 

hillside ! • 196 

how much • 173 

implements for 186 

in early days 53 

in basins 185. 19() 

in checks 185, 191 

in furrows 193, 19-5 

leveling for 69 

locating contour lines 205 

manure with irrigation water.... 166 

manurial value of 166 

measurement of water 211 

methods of 184 

nursery 80 

objections answered 172 

relation to cultivation 180 

relation to rainfall 174 

relation to soil 177 

relation to tillage 179 

reservoirs, small 206 

running ditches for 204 

subirrigation 216 

suggestions for 216 

summer 182 

taken from ditches 209 

wells and pumps for 210 

wheels for 209 

when desirable 181 

winter 181 

Jajoba • ■ 4~ 

Jujube of commerce 471 

Jujube, native 44 

Kai Apple 477 

Laying out land for fruit 98 

Leaf lice 552 

Lemon berry 44 

Lemon, The 457 

curing 462 

packing 453 

planting and pruning 459 

propagation 459 

situations and soils for 458 



Page 
Lemon-continued 
Varieties : 

Eureka 466 

Lisbon 466 

Villa Franca 466 

Lemon berry 44 

Lice, leaf 558 

Lime, The 466 

V.^RIETIES : 

Mexican 466 

Imperial • 466 

Lime, uses of • 161 

Loganberry 492 

Loquat, The 471 

Varieties : 

Advance 472 

Blush 472 

Commercial 472 

Pineapple 472 

Premier 472 

Victor 472 

Manure, care of • 162 

green 167 

sheep, use of 164 

Manuring at planting 115 

Manzanita berries 44 

Map of orchard and vineyard 116 

Marls 162 

Mealy bugs • • 563 

Measuring wire 98 

Melon shrub 474 

Melon tree 474 

Mildew 574 

Miner's inch 211 

Mission fruits 46 

Moisture lost by weed growth 144 

retained by cultivation 143 

Morning Glory, killing 154 

Moss, removing 577 

Mulberry, The 489 

Mulching, after planting 116 

Mulching as substitute for cultivation 155 

Nectarine 293 

compared with peach 293 

dried 293, 536 

future of 295 

varieties 294 

Nitrogen for fruits 161, 167 

Nursery • 70 

budding and grafting 81 

classes of nursery stock 90 

growing seedlings • 72 

imported seedlings 76 



600 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



Page 
Nursery — continued 

irrigation 80 

laying out and planting 78 

pruning in 90 

selection of site for 71 

soil, preparation of 72 

soil, proper for 70 

trees, ages of 90 

trees, digging 110 

trees, disinfecting 570 

trees, selecting 108 

when to plant 112 

Nuts growing in California 499 

growing from seed 75 

wild 45 

Olives 398 

at old missions 47 

budding 403 

canning 414 

climate for 398 

from cuttings 400, 401 

from seed 400 

grafting 404 

localities for 399 

oil making • . .' 411 

oil yield of varieties ■ 421 

planting 406 

preferred varieties 415 

pruning 407 

pickling 410, 413 

small cuttings 401 

soils for 400 

truncheons 402 

twig borer 564 

wild 44 

varieties 415 

Orchard land, preparation of 96 

laying out in squares 97 

alternating squares 97 

measure and sight 98 

measuring wire 100 

quincunx planting 101 

time for planting Ill 

Orange 422 

all the year from California 428 

budding and grafting 441 

California regions discussed 424 

conditions for citrus fruits 432 

diseases 451 

distances for 442 

from cuttings 436 

from layers 436 

from seed 437 

in central California 426 

in southern California 424 

mission 47 

nursery • 439 

packing • 453 

planting in orchard 443 

product 57, 425 



Page 
Orange — continued 

pruning 447 

ripening first at the north 433 

seedlings, care of 438 

situation and soils for 436 

superiority of semi-tropical 423 

transplanting 444 

world's industry 422 

varieties 452, 453 

Orchard planting 105 

Oregon grape 44 

Oso berry 41 

Popular fruit varieties 220 

Palm nuts 45 

Peach 272 

age at planting 277 

approved lists of 287 

blight 576 

blooming of varieties 286 

curl-leaf 283 

diseases 283 

distance in planting 277 

dormant buds 278 

drying 535 

early bearing 273 

grafting 282 

growing season of 24 

irrigation 282 

localities for 274 

longevity of 272 

mildew 284 

mission '. 46 

moth 564 

"peach almond" 277 

pitting clings 536 

propagation 277 

pruning 127, 279 

ripening of varieties 286 

root borer 565 

seedlings 74 

soils for 275 

stocks for 277 

table of varieties 285 

thinning 141, 281 

varieties 222, 285 to 293 

Peanut growing 506 

Pear 296 

Bartlett, why popular 298 

blight 304 

characteristics in CaHfornia 298 

diseases 305 

distances for the 300 

drying 535 

dwarf 301 

for alkali soil 298 

irrigation 302 

largest on record .' . . 298 

localities for 297 



INDEX 



601 



Page 
Pear — continued 

mission ■ 47 

on quince stock • 301 

pollination 305 

propagation of 301 

pruning 301 

seedlings, growing 73 

slug 550 

soils for 299 

storing and ripening 304 

tables of varieties -309 

thinning 302 

varieties 223. 306 to 30:-i 

Pear, Alligator 475 

Pecan, The 507 

Persimmon, Jananese 472 

Persimmon, Virginian 472 

Persimmons, curing 473 

Phenomenal berry 492 

Phosphates 159 

Phylloxera 558 

Pioneers, planting by 47 

Pineapple 473 

Pine nuts 45 

Pistachio, The 507 

Planting, conditions favoring 112 

bar for setting 107 

cutting- back after 117, 124 

depth of 115 

digging holes for 105 

laying off for 98 

mulching 116 

operation of 113 

preparing land for 95 

soeed in 115 

time for 11> 

triangular tree setter 108 

use of manure 115 

use of water 114 

Plowing, devices for 147 

orchard and vineyard 147 

on hillside 149 

to break hardpan 96 

Plow, laying off with 98 

Phims and prunes 310 

California false 40 

confusion in names 318 

definition of a prune 310 

drying 536 

from the root 313 

in southern California 312 

length of season 310 

localities for 311 

mission 47 

myrobalan 312 

planting 314 



Page 
Plums and Prunes — continued 

pollination 320 

propagation 312 

pruning the 314 

seedlings 74 

stocks and soils 312 

table of varieties 321 

varieties 223, 321 to 327 

wikl 40 

Plumcot. The 317 

Pomegranate, The 473 

Pomelo 455 

packing 453 

varieties 456 

Potash 160 

Prickly Pear 45, 474 

Prune curing 536 

Pruning 1 18 

bearing trees 1 28 

California stvle 121 

effects of ..'. 120 

gathering brush 137 

influenced by location 122 

low, advantages of 119 

nursery 90 

prunings as fertilizer 164 

purposes of 119 

times for 131 

tools 135 

to renew old trees 128, 134 

vase form, securing 122 

wounds, covering 137 

Quince 328 

demand for 328 

propagation 32R 

pruning 329 

soils for 329 

varieties 329 

Quincunx planting 101 

Rabbit, fences 582 

Rabbits, destroying 583 

poisons for 583 

smears for 583 

Rainfall, records of 12 

Raisin making 53, 538 

Raspberr3\ The 490 

bJack-caps 49i 

hybrids 492 

pruning 49l) 

varieties, popular 492 

wild 42 

Red Spider 556 

Root rot 578, 581 

Root-knots 581 

Russian introduction of fruits 49 

Salal 44 



602 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Page 
Salmon berrv 42 

Scale Insects 558 

black 561 

brown apricot 562 

cottony cushion 563 

pear 559 

orange, red 560 

orange, soft 561 

oyster shell 559 

rose and berry 559 

San Jose 559 

remedies for 571 

Sapota, white 476 

Scions, care of 85 

selection of 85 

Sea Fig 44 

Seed, growing trees from 75 

Seedlings, imported 72, 76 

Septuple laying off 100 

Service Berry 44 

Soils for fruits 28 

adobe 34 

alkali 38 

alluvial 34 

bed-rock or hardpan Z7 

blasting 106 

characteristic of California 28 

classification of 31 

clay 35 

defective 36 

desert ^^ 

examination of 39 

granitic 35 

loams 35 

mesa 35 

plains "^2 

red 35 

river bottom 35 

sedimentary or silty 34 

shallow, blasting 106 

Sour sap 579 

Spider, red 556 

Stock, fruit as food for 593 

Squares, laying off in 97 

Squirrels, destroying 584 

Strawberry 493 

care of 497 

continuous bearing 497 

laying out for 494 

planting 496 

propagation 493 

situations and soils 493 

varieties, popular 498 

wild 44, 498 

Strawberry tree 474 



Page 

Summer pruning 133 

Sunburn, protection from 117 

Sunlight, value of direct 21 

Sunshine, evaporating 530 

Sunshine, records of 22 

Temperature, lowest 20 

Temperature, records of 21 

Thinning fruit 137 

Thrios 553 

Tomato tree 477 

Toyon 44 

Trees, activity and rest of 17 

heeling in Ill 

selecting 108 

Tree-setters 107, 108 

Triangle for laying out 103 

Tuna fruit 45, 474 

Tussock moth 550 

Vine hoppers 553 



Vineyard — see grape 
Walnut, black 



.45, 513 



Walnut, English 508 

bacteriosis or blight 578 

bleaching 520 

blossoms of 519 

budding 511 

culture and soils 508 

gathering and drying 519 

grafting 513 

growing seedlings 75, 509 

hybrids 509 

propagation and planting 509, 517 

pruning 518 

varieties 521 

Water measurements 211 

Weed killing by cultivation 154 

Weeds, evaporation by 144 

Weir measurement 211 

Whitewash against sunburn 117 

Wild fruits of California 40 

Windbreaks 587 

trees for 588 

Wine grapes 375 

Winery refuse as manure 165 

Winter-killing, unknown 19 

Wire, measuring 100 

Woolly aphis 558 

Wounds, covering 137 

Yellow jackets, killing 570 



California Vegetables 



IN 



GARDEN AND FIELD 



A MANUAL OF PRACTICE WITH AND WITHOUT IRRIGATION 





By EDWARD J. 


WICKSON 


, A. M. 




CONTENTS 




Chapter. 




Chat'ter. 




I. 


N'egetable Growing in California. 


XX. 


Corn. 


II. 


Farmers' Gardens in California. 


XXI. 


Cucumber. 


III. 


California Climate as Related to 


XXII. 


Kgg Plant. 




Vegetable Growing. 


XXIII. 


Lettuce. 


IV. 


Vegetable Soils of California. 


XXIV. 


Melons. 


V. 


Garden Irrigation. 


XXV. 


Onion Family. 


VI. 


Garden Drainage in California. 


XXVI. 


Peas. 


VII. 


Cultivation. 


XXVII. 


Peppers. 


VIII. 


Fertilization. 


XXVIII. 


Potatoes. 


IX. 


Garden Location and Arrange- 


XXIX. 


Radishes. 




ment. 


XXX. 


Rhubarb. 


X. 


The Planting Season. 


XXXI. 


Spinach. 


XI. 


Propagation. 


XXXII. 


Squashes. 


XII. 


Asparagus. 


XXXIII. 


Tomato. 


XIII. 


Artichokes. 


XXXIV. 


Turnip. 


XIV. 


Beans. 


XXXV. 


N'cgetable Sundries. 


XV. 


Beet. 


XXXVI. 


X'egetables for Canning 


XVI. 


Cabbage Family. 




and Drying. 


XVII. 


Carrot, Parsnip and Salsify. 


XXXVII. 


Seed Growing in California. 


XVIII. 


Celery. 


XXXVIII. 


Garden Protection. 


XIX. 


Chicory. 


XXXIX. 


Weeds in California. 



Second Edition— Revised and Extended 



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growing in California, not only on a large scale, but to the large number who cultivate these 
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We take no risk in advising every Californian who has a garden spot to procure a copy. — 
San Francisco Chronicle. 

Not only interesting but valuable to every one in this State who cultivates ever so small 
a lot of ground. The author is eminently qualified for the work which he has just completed. 
— San Francisco Bulletin. 

It treats of the proper culture of all leading vegetables in California. It is full of infor- 
mation and instruction. It is so clear that whoever uses it as a guide book can not go 
astray in vegetable culture. The work is freely illustrated and handsomely bound. — Sacra- 
mento Record-Union. 

Covers every part of the State in technical analysis and physical demonstration. — Peta- 
lunia Courier. 

It treats of every feature of vegetable production in plain, common-sense terms, and 
gives reasons for its assertions. — Pomona Times. 



Price $2.00, Postpaid Anywhere 

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